Sean P. Downes Sells 25,000 Shares of Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE) Stock

Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE) Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.91, for a total transaction of $672,750.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 926,667 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,936,608.97. This represents a 2.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Universal Insurance Stock Performance

Shares of UVE opened at $26.39 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $25.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $22.43. Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $16.50 and a 12 month high of $28.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $742.75 million, a P/E ratio of 10.73 and a beta of 0.87.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The insurance provider reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.32. Universal Insurance had a return on equity of 15.43% and a net margin of 4.82%. The company had revenue of $394.87 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $354.97 million. As a group, analysts predict that Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. will post 1.66 EPS for the current year.

Universal Insurance Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th were issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. Universal Insurance’s payout ratio is 27.95%.

Institutional Trading of Universal Insurance

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. boosted its stake in Universal Insurance by 6.8% during the first quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 1,836,718 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $43,530,000 after acquiring an additional 116,199 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Universal Insurance by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,674,545 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $35,266,000 after purchasing an additional 4,480 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Universal Insurance by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,496,224 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $31,510,000 after buying an additional 6,250 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in Universal Insurance by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 805,199 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $19,083,000 after buying an additional 69,289 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Universal Insurance by 9.8% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 668,641 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $15,847,000 after buying an additional 59,752 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.61% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Universal Insurance from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th.

About Universal Insurance

Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated insurance holding company in the United States. It develops, markets, and underwrites insurance products for personal residential insurance, such as homeowners, renters/tenants, condo unit owners, and dwelling/fire; and offers allied lines, coverage for other structures, and personal property, liability, and personal articles coverages.