American Century Companies Inc. Invests $5.95 Million in United Community Banks, Inc. (NASDAQ:UCB)

American Century Companies Inc. acquired a new stake in United Community Banks, Inc. (NASDAQ:UCB) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 184,196 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,951,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Swiss National Bank acquired a new stake in United Community Banks in the 4th quarter valued at $7,573,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans bought a new stake in United Community Banks during the fourth quarter worth $3,243,000. Great Lakes Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in United Community Banks in the fourth quarter valued at $3,050,000. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System bought a new position in shares of United Community Banks in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,301,000. Finally, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS bought a new position in shares of United Community Banks in the 4th quarter valued at about $823,000. Institutional investors own 82.29% of the company’s stock.

United Community Banks Price Performance

Shares of UCB opened at $24.18 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $30.75 and its 200-day moving average is $30.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.89 billion, a PE ratio of 11.85 and a beta of 0.80. United Community Banks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $23.41 and a fifty-two week high of $35.38.

United Community Banks Announces Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.97%. United Community Banks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Community Banks

In related news, CEO H Lynn Harton sold 31,679 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.84, for a total transaction of $1,072,017.36. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 112,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,805,104.96. This trade represents a 21.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Sally Pope Davis acquired 1,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $28.19 per share, with a total value of $50,742.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,264 shares in the company, valued at approximately $92,012.16. This trade represents a 122.95 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. 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. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on United Community Banks from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Hovde Group cut their price objective on United Community Banks from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th.

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.