Geode Capital Management LLC Invests $88.40 Million in United Community Banks, Inc. (NASDAQ:UCB)

Geode Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in United Community Banks, Inc. (NASDAQ:UCB - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 2,735,249 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $88,397,000. Geode Capital Management LLC owned approximately 2.29% of United Community Banks at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of UCB. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of United Community Banks in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of United Community Banks during the fourth quarter worth about $80,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new position in shares of United Community Banks in the fourth quarter worth approximately $174,000. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in United Community Banks in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $232,000. Finally, Patten & Patten Inc. TN bought a new stake in United Community Banks during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $255,000. 82.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on UCB shares. Hovde Group upgraded United Community Banks from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $32.00 to $31.00 in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of United Community Banks from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Raymond James raised shares of United Community Banks from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $35.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th.

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United Community Banks Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ UCB traded up $0.05 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $24.57. The company's stock had a trading volume of 94,502 shares, compared to its average volume of 660,148. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.66. The stock has a market cap of $2.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.02 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. United Community Banks, Inc. has a 12 month low of $22.93 and a 12 month high of $35.38.

United Community Banks Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.91%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. United Community Banks's payout ratio is 47.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO H Lynn Harton sold 31,679 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.84, for a total transaction of $1,072,017.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 112,444 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,805,104.96. This trade represents a 21.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Sally Pope Davis acquired 1,800 shares of United Community Banks stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $28.19 per share, with a total value of $50,742.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 3,264 shares in the company, valued at $92,012.16. This represents a 122.95 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company 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.