Prudential Financial Inc. Buys New Shares in United Community Banks, Inc. (NASDAQ:UCB)

Prudential Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of United Community Banks, Inc. (NASDAQ:UCB - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 121,536 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,985,000. Prudential Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.10% of United Community Banks at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UCB. Farther Finance Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United Community Banks during the 4th quarter valued at $80,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of United Community Banks during the fourth quarter worth $174,000. Patten & Patten Inc. TN acquired a new stake in United Community Banks during the fourth quarter valued at $255,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC purchased a new position in United Community Banks in the fourth quarter valued at about $273,000. Finally, Xponance Inc. acquired a new position in United Community Banks in the 4th quarter worth about $278,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.29% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Richard Bradshaw sold 1,527 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.72, for a total value of $49,963.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 67,876 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,220,902.72. The trade was a 2.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sally Pope Davis acquired 1,800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $28.19 per share, with a total value of $50,742.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 3,264 shares in the company, valued at $92,012.16. This trade 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 Stock Down 5.0 %

NASDAQ UCB traded down $1.28 during trading on Friday, hitting $24.18. 1,269,296 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 637,245. The company has a market capitalization of $2.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.85 and a beta of 0.80. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $30.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $30.99. United Community Banks, Inc. has a 12 month low of $23.41 and a 12 month high of $35.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

United Community Banks Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.97%. United Community Banks's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Hovde Group cut their price target on United Community Banks from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of United Community Banks from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Raymond James upgraded shares of United Community Banks from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $35.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th.

United Community Banks Company 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.