Principal Financial Group Inc. Cuts Stock Position in United Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:UBSI)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its holdings in United Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:UBSI - Free Report) by 30.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 312,881 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 139,181 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.23% of United Bankshares worth $11,608,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of United Bankshares by 110.4% during the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 2,206,434 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $71,577,000 after purchasing an additional 1,157,579 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. grew its holdings in United Bankshares by 16.7% during the third quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,558,081 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $57,805,000 after purchasing an additional 223,150 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in United Bankshares in the third quarter worth $6,186,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of United Bankshares by 1.8% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,907,665 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $256,521,000 after buying an additional 142,545 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of United Bankshares by 89.5% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 269,852 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $10,012,000 after buying an additional 127,486 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.80% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Bankshares

In other United Bankshares news, Director Peter A. Converse sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total value of $200,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 434,769 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,390,760. This trade represents a 1.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Mark R. Nesselroad sold 6,000 shares of United Bankshares stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.16, for a total value of $234,960.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 35,424 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,387,203.84. This trade represents a 14.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 13,500 shares of company stock valued at $542,110 in the last three months. Company insiders own 3.66% of the company's stock.

United Bankshares Stock Performance

Shares of United Bankshares stock traded down $0.23 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $37.64. The company had a trading volume of 301,657 shares, compared to its average volume of 525,211. The firm has a market cap of $5.09 billion, a PE ratio of 14.26 and a beta of 1.01. United Bankshares, Inc. has a one year low of $30.68 and a one year high of $44.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $37.40.

United Bankshares (NASDAQ:UBSI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.03. United Bankshares had a return on equity of 7.58% and a net margin of 22.05%. The business had revenue of $414.67 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $260.30 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.71 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that United Bankshares, Inc. will post 2.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Bankshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. United Bankshares's dividend payout ratio is presently 56.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com raised United Bankshares from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $40.25.

United Bankshares Company 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.