4,604,227 Shares in United Community Banks, Inc. (NASDAQ:UCB) Bought by Capital Research Global Investors

Capital Research Global Investors bought a new position in shares of United Community Banks, Inc. (NASDAQ:UCB - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 4,604,227 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $148,763,000. Capital Research Global Investors owned about 3.86% of United Community Banks as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of Montreal Can purchased a new position in United Community Banks during the 4th quarter valued at about $508,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in shares of United Community Banks in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $10,686,000. Swiss National Bank acquired a new stake in United Community Banks during the 4th quarter worth approximately $7,573,000. Corebridge Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in United Community Banks during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,057,000. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans purchased a new stake in shares of United Community Banks during the fourth quarter worth $3,243,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.29% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on UCB shares. DA Davidson cut their price target on United Community Banks from $38.00 to $33.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Hovde Group upgraded shares of United Community Banks from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $32.00 to $31.00 in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $36.00 price objective on shares of United Community Banks in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of United Community Banks from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $33.33.

United Community Banks Stock Performance

Shares of UCB stock traded down $0.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $27.23. 693,952 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 676,496. United Community Banks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $22.93 and a 12-month high of $35.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.35 and a beta of 0.80. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $27.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $30.51.

United Community Banks Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. United Community Banks's payout ratio is currently 45.50%.

Insider Activity

In other United Community Banks news, EVP Richard Bradshaw sold 1,527 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.72, for a total transaction of $49,963.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 67,876 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,220,902.72. This trade represents a 2.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO H Lynn Harton sold 31,679 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.84, for a total value of $1,072,017.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 112,444 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,805,104.96. The trade was a 21.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

United Community Banks Profile

United Community Banks, Inc operates as the financial holding company for United Community Bank that provides financial products and services to commercial, retail, government, education, energy, health care, and real estate sectors. It accepts various deposit products, including checking, savings, money market, and other deposit accounts.