Marshall Wace LLP Boosts Stake in First United Co. (NASDAQ:FUNC)

Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in shares of First United Co. (NASDAQ:FUNC) by 218.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,146 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 16,574 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP’s holdings in First United were worth $814,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC purchased a new stake in First United during the 3rd quarter valued at about $126,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in First United by 31.3% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 15,440 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $520,000 after buying an additional 3,683 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its position in First United by 34.9% in the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 20,786 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $701,000 after buying an additional 5,374 shares during the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP increased its holdings in First United by 22.4% in the 4th quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 21,156 shares of the bank’s stock worth $713,000 after buying an additional 3,870 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in First United by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 24,893 shares of the bank’s stock worth $839,000 after buying an additional 1,180 shares during the last quarter. 33.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James upgraded shares of First United from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $42.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com cut First United from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 29th.

First United Price Performance

NASDAQ:FUNC opened at $29.77 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $30.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $32.94. First United Co. has a 1-year low of $19.17 and a 1-year high of $42.50. The firm has a market cap of $192.70 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.45 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.94.

First United (NASDAQ:FUNC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 21st. The bank reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.09. First United had a net margin of 18.45% and a return on equity of 12.51%. The business had revenue of $20.84 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.63 million. Equities research analysts forecast that First United Co. will post 3.75 EPS for the current year.

First United Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. First United’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.29%.

About First United

First United Corporation operates as the bank holding company for First United Bank & Trust that provides various retail and commercial banking services to businesses and individuals. It offers various deposit products, which includes checking, savings, money market deposit, and regular and individual retirement accounts (IRAs), as well as certificates of deposit.