Vanguard Group Inc. Buys 54,004 Shares of Universal Insurance Holdings Inc $UVE

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Universal Insurance Holdings Inc (NYSE:UVE) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,007,725 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 54,004 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 0.07% of Universal Insurance worth $67,861,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. A&I Financial Services LLC raised its position in Universal Insurance by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. A&I Financial Services LLC now owns 23,630 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $799,000 after purchasing an additional 1,389 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH raised its position in Universal Insurance by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 46,925 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,586,000 after purchasing an additional 4,808 shares during the last quarter. Clark Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Universal Insurance during the 4th quarter worth $275,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in Universal Insurance by 53.3% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 6,419 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $217,000 after purchasing an additional 2,232 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pursuit Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Universal Insurance during the 4th quarter worth $1,745,000. 66.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Universal Insurance

In related news, CAO Kimberly D. Campos sold 879 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.84, for a total value of $29,745.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 7,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $251,160.48. The trade was a 10.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.69, for a total value of $793,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 1,188,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,161,840.95. The trade was a 1.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 40,879 shares of company stock valued at $1,515,545 over the last ninety days. 15.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on UVE. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Universal Insurance in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Wall Street Zen lowered Universal Insurance from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Zacks Research raised Universal Insurance from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have assigned a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Universal Insurance presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $40.00.

Universal Insurance Stock Performance

UVE stock opened at $39.03 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $35.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $33.45. Universal Insurance Holdings Inc has a 1-year low of $21.96 and a 1-year high of $41.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The firm has a market cap of $1.09 billion, a PE ratio of 5.78 and a beta of 0.77.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $2.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.61. Universal Insurance had a return on equity of 37.51% and a net margin of 12.22%.The firm had revenue of $398.16 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $481.09 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Universal Insurance Holdings Inc will post 4.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Universal Insurance Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th will be given a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 8th. Universal Insurance’s payout ratio is presently 9.48%.

Universal Insurance Company Profile

Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc (NYSE: UVE) is a property and casualty insurance holding company headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida. The company underwrites homeowners and other residential property insurance products to protect against natural catastrophes such as hurricanes, windstorms and fires. It distributes policies primarily through a network of independent agents and brokers, offering coverage for primary residences, secondary homes, condominiums, vacant dwellings and rental properties across its service territory.

In addition to personal lines, Universal provides commercial property and casualty insurance tailored to small businesses and institutional clients.