Versor Investments LP Sells 14,700 Shares of Universal Insurance Holdings Inc $UVE

Versor Investments LP trimmed its holdings in shares of Universal Insurance Holdings Inc (NYSE:UVE) by 48.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 15,900 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 14,700 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP’s holdings in Universal Insurance were worth $537,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Universal Insurance by 72.6% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 39,990 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,052,000 after acquiring an additional 16,820 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its holdings in shares of Universal Insurance by 219.5% in the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 62,898 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,654,000 after buying an additional 43,213 shares in the last quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Universal Insurance in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,388,000. Pursuit Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Universal Insurance in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,745,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Universal Insurance by 11.3% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 843,059 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $22,172,000 after buying an additional 85,312 shares in the last quarter. 66.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Universal Insurance

In other news, CAO Kimberly D. Campos sold 879 shares of Universal Insurance stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.84, for a total transaction of $29,745.36. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 20,000 shares of Universal Insurance stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.60, for a total transaction of $692,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 1,206,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,754,864.80. This trade represents a 1.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 40,879 shares of company stock valued at $1,515,545. Insiders own 15.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UVE has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Universal Insurance in a report on Monday, April 20th. Zacks Research raised shares of Universal Insurance from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Universal Insurance from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have given a Buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $40.00.

Universal Insurance Price Performance

NYSE:UVE opened at $39.13 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.51 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The firm has a market cap of $1.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.80 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $35.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $33.40. Universal Insurance Holdings Inc has a 1-year low of $21.96 and a 1-year high of $41.96.

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

Universal Insurance Dividend Announcement

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

Universal Insurance 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.