Quest Partners LLC Buys 4,459 Shares of United Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:UBSI)

Quest Partners LLC boosted its stake in United Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:UBSI) by 377.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,641 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,459 shares during the quarter. Quest Partners LLC’s holdings in United Bankshares were worth $209,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of United Bankshares by 110.4% during the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 2,206,434 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $71,577,000 after acquiring an additional 1,157,579 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of United Bankshares by 16.7% during the 3rd quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,558,081 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $57,805,000 after acquiring an additional 223,150 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of United Bankshares by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,907,665 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $256,521,000 after acquiring an additional 142,545 shares during the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP boosted its position in shares of United Bankshares by 73.8% during the 2nd quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 279,039 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,052,000 after acquiring an additional 118,501 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of United Bankshares during the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,849,000. Institutional investors own 70.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other United Bankshares news, Director J Paul Mcnamara sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.86, for a total value of $107,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 63,409 shares in the company, valued at $2,717,709.74. This represents a 3.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Peter A. Converse sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total value 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 represents a 1.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded United Bankshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.25.

United Bankshares Price Performance

UBSI opened at $42.49 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.97. United Bankshares, Inc. has a 52-week low of $30.68 and a 52-week high of $44.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.75 billion, a PE ratio of 16.09 and a beta of 0.98. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $38.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $36.18.

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

United Bankshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. United Bankshares’s 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.