Prudential Financial Inc. Sells 84,710 Shares of United Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:UBSI)

Prudential Financial Inc. lowered its stake in shares of United Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:UBSI - Free Report) by 86.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,240 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 84,710 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc.'s holdings in United Bankshares were worth $497,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UBSI. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP increased its stake in shares of United Bankshares by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP now owns 15,406 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $578,000 after purchasing an additional 1,716 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in United Bankshares by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,310,562 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $537,362,000 after buying an additional 115,681 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in United Bankshares in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,060,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of United Bankshares by 23.9% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 94,630 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,553,000 after buying an additional 18,246 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of United Bankshares in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $740,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.80% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

United Bankshares Price Performance

NASDAQ UBSI traded up $0.09 on Friday, reaching $31.84. The company's stock had a trading volume of 783,838 shares, compared to its average volume of 591,352. United Bankshares, Inc. has a 52 week low of $30.51 and a 52 week high of $44.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The firm has a market cap of $4.57 billion, a PE ratio of 11.62 and a beta of 0.91. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $35.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.63.

United Bankshares (NASDAQ:UBSI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.01. United Bankshares had a return on equity of 7.60% and a net margin of 22.94%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.59 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that United Bankshares, Inc. will post 2.81 EPS for the current year.

United Bankshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.65%. United Bankshares's dividend payout ratio is presently 54.01%.

Insider Transactions at United Bankshares

In other news, Director Sara Dumond acquired 2,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $35.01 per share, with a total value of $91,026.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 5,054 shares of the company's stock, valued at $176,940.54. This represents a 105.95 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 3.66% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.