MetLife Investment Management LLC Boosts Position in United Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:UBSI)

MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of United Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:UBSI) by 7.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 153,241 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 10,761 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in United Bankshares were worth $5,754,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of United Bankshares by 9.8% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 594,819 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $22,068,000 after purchasing an additional 52,949 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in United Bankshares during the fourth quarter worth $7,383,000. Truist Financial Corp increased its position in United Bankshares by 69.8% during the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 22,916 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $860,000 after buying an additional 9,418 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of United Bankshares by 89.5% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 269,852 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,012,000 after acquiring an additional 127,486 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of United Bankshares by 12.0% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,656 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $214,000 after acquiring an additional 608 shares during the last quarter. 70.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on UBSI. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of United Bankshares from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $43.00 target price on shares of United Bankshares in a research note on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com downgraded United Bankshares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $38.50 price objective on shares of United Bankshares in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, United Bankshares currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $41.88.

Insider Activity at United Bankshares

In related news, Director Sara Dumond bought 2,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $35.01 per share, for a total transaction of $91,026.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 5,054 shares in the company, valued at $176,940.54. This represents a 105.95 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 3.66% of the company’s stock.

United Bankshares Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of UBSI opened at $34.47 on Thursday. United Bankshares, Inc. has a twelve month low of $30.51 and a twelve month high of $44.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.58 and a beta of 0.91. 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 stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $34.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.46.

United Bankshares (NASDAQ:UBSI) 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. On average, equities research analysts forecast that United Bankshares, Inc. will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current year.

United Bankshares Announces Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. United Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.01%.

United Bankshares 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.