Barclays PLC Increases Holdings in United Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:UBSI)

Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of United Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:UBSI - Free Report) by 26.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 339,899 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 70,047 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned about 0.25% of United Bankshares worth $12,762,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in UBSI. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of United Bankshares by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,310,562 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $537,362,000 after purchasing an additional 115,681 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in United Bankshares by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,710,588 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $64,233,000 after purchasing an additional 37,532 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its position in United Bankshares by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,612,170 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $60,538,000 after buying an additional 54,089 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of United Bankshares in the fourth quarter valued at $54,712,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of United Bankshares by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 900,377 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $33,809,000 after buying an additional 61,109 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.80% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on United Bankshares from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Piper Sandler reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $38.50 price target on shares of United Bankshares in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of United Bankshares from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $43.00 target price on shares of United Bankshares in a report on Monday, January 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $41.88.

United Bankshares Price Performance

Shares of United Bankshares stock traded up $0.54 on Wednesday, reaching $34.47. The stock had a trading volume of 1,108,702 shares, compared to its average volume of 611,273. The business's 50 day moving average is $34.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. United Bankshares, Inc. has a 1 year low of $30.51 and a 1 year high of $44.43. The company has a market cap of $4.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.58 and a beta of 0.91.

United Bankshares (NASDAQ:UBSI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.01. United Bankshares had a net margin of 22.94% and a return on equity of 7.60%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.59 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that United Bankshares, Inc. will post 2.81 EPS for the current year.

United Bankshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.29%. United Bankshares's payout ratio is currently 54.01%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Sara Dumond acquired 2,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $35.01 per share, for a total transaction of $91,026.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,054 shares in the company, valued at $176,940.54. This represents a 105.95 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 3.66% of the company's stock.

United Bankshares Profile

United Bankshares, Inc, through its subsidiaries, primarily provides commercial and retail banking products and services in the United States. It operates through two segments, Community Banking and Mortgage Banking. The company accepts checking, savings, and time and money market accounts; individual retirement accounts; and demand deposits, statement and special savings, and NOW accounts.