United Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:UBSI) Stock Position Cut by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of United Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:UBSI) by 11.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,994 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,953 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in United Bankshares were worth $1,199,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in United Bankshares by 1.8% during 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 acquiring an additional 142,545 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC grew 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 worth $137,993,000 after purchasing an additional 74,638 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of United Bankshares by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,997,311 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $148,300,000 after purchasing an additional 14,833 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in United Bankshares by 1.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,306,542 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $122,695,000 after purchasing an additional 53,994 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in United Bankshares by 110.4% during the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 2,206,434 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $71,577,000 after buying an additional 1,157,579 shares in the last quarter. 70.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com raised United Bankshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $40.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other United Bankshares news, Director Peter A. Converse sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total value of $200,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 434,769 shares in the company, valued at $17,390,760. This represents a 1.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director J Paul Mcnamara sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.86, for a total transaction of $107,150.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 63,409 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,717,709.74. This represents a 3.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 13,500 shares of company stock worth $542,110. 3.66% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

United Bankshares Stock Performance

Shares of UBSI opened at $37.87 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $40.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $37.32. The stock has a market cap of $5.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.34 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.96. United Bankshares, Inc. has a one year low of $30.68 and a one year high of $44.43.

United Bankshares (NASDAQ:UBSI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.03. United Bankshares had a net margin of 22.05% and a return on equity of 7.58%. The firm had revenue of $414.67 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $260.30 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.71 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that United Bankshares, Inc. will post 2.73 earnings per share for the current year.

United Bankshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.91%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. United Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.