Principal Financial Group Inc. Reduces Holdings in United Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:UBSI)

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its stake in shares of United Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:UBSI) by 30.8% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 312,881 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 139,181 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in United Bankshares were worth $11,608,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of UBSI. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in 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 worth $256,521,000 after buying an additional 142,545 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of United Bankshares by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 4,253,797 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $137,993,000 after purchasing an additional 74,638 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of United Bankshares by 1.4% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,982,478 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $129,192,000 after purchasing an additional 55,633 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its stake in United Bankshares by 110.4% in the second 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 period. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its holdings in United Bankshares by 1.8% in the second quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,334,931 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,305,000 after purchasing an additional 23,640 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of United Bankshares from $36.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Stephens upped their price objective on shares of United Bankshares from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com raised shares of United Bankshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on United Bankshares from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Peter A. Converse sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 3.66% of the company’s stock.

United Bankshares Stock Performance

Shares of UBSI stock opened at $42.22 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.99 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.97. United Bankshares, Inc. has a one year low of $30.68 and a one year high of $43.77. The company’s 50-day moving average is $37.92 and its 200 day moving average is $35.78.

United Bankshares (NASDAQ:UBSI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $414.67 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $260.30 million. United Bankshares had a net margin of 22.05% and a return on equity of 7.58%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.71 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that United Bankshares, Inc. will post 2.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Bankshares Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.51%. United Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio is 56.06%.

About United Bankshares

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.