Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC Has $21.48 Million Holdings in United Community Banks, Inc. $UCB

Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC cut its position in shares of United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE:UCB) by 10.9% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 682,001 shares of the company’s stock after selling 83,425 shares during the period. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC’s holdings in United Community Banks were worth $21,476,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of UCB. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of United Community Banks in the fourth quarter valued at $48,450,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new stake in United Community Banks during the first quarter worth $34,183,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in United Community Banks by 70.6% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,380,627 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,103,000 after buying an additional 571,296 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in United Community Banks by 125.7% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 774,660 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,286,000 after buying an additional 431,491 shares during the period. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its stake in shares of United Community Banks by 105.9% in the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 766,552 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,031,000 after buying an additional 394,263 shares in the last quarter. 82.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at United Community Banks

In other United Community Banks news, EVP Jefferson L. Harralson sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.41, for a total transaction of $885,250.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 37,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,325,502.53. This represents a 40.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Richard Bradshaw sold 1,424 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.09, for a total transaction of $49,968.16. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 83,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,920,470.52. The trade was a 1.68% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.45% of the company’s stock.

United Community Banks Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of UCB opened at $35.50 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.68 and a beta of 0.81. United Community Banks, Inc. has a one year low of $28.65 and a one year high of $37.18. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $34.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $33.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by ($0.09). United Community Banks had a net margin of 24.43% and a return on equity of 9.61%. The business had revenue of $279.28 million for the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that United Community Banks, Inc. will post 2.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Community Banks Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. United Community Banks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.89%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on UCB shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of United Community Banks from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $36.00 to $40.00 in a report on Thursday, April 9th. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $40.00 target price on shares of United Community Banks in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of United Community Banks from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 27th. Hovde Group cut their price target on shares of United Community Banks from $38.00 to $37.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised United Community Banks from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, United Community Banks currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $38.80.

About United Community Banks

United Community Banks, Inc (NYSE: UCB) is a bank holding company headquartered in Blairsville, Georgia. It operates primarily through its subsidiary, United Community Bank, providing a broad range of banking and financial services to individual, business and governmental customers. The company’s core offerings include deposit accounts, commercial and consumer lending, mortgage origination, treasury and cash management services, and wealth management.

In addition to traditional banking products such as checking, savings and money market accounts, United Community Bank specializes in commercial real estate financing, small business administration (SBA) loans, equipment financing and agricultural lending.