Pzena Investment Management LLC Sells 414,855 Shares of Universal Corporation $UVV

Pzena Investment Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Universal Corporation (NYSE:UVV) by 45.5% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 496,979 shares of the company’s stock after selling 414,855 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Universal were worth $28,944,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of UVV. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Universal by 38.6% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,149 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its position in Universal by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 14,727 shares of the company’s stock valued at $825,000 after acquiring an additional 405 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Universal by 8.6% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 15,155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $849,000 after acquiring an additional 1,196 shares in the last quarter. TrueMark Investments LLC boosted its position in Universal by 227.0% during the 1st quarter. TrueMark Investments LLC now owns 97,210 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,449,000 after acquiring an additional 67,481 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Universal in the 1st quarter worth approximately $437,000. 81.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Universal Price Performance

NYSE UVV opened at $52.67 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $54.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $56.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.82, a PEG ratio of 5.93 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.49 and a quick ratio of 0.98. Universal Corporation has a 1-year low of $49.40 and a 1-year high of $67.33.

Universal (NYSE:UVV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $593.76 million for the quarter. Universal had a return on equity of 8.46% and a net margin of 3.51%.

Universal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. Universal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 79.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UVV has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised Universal from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Universal in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Universal to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Insider Transactions at Universal

In other news, Director Robert C. Sledd sold 4,617 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.25, for a total value of $245,855.25. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 15,698 shares in the company, valued at $835,918.50. This represents a 22.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Airton L. Hentschke sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.94, for a total value of $549,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 135,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,423,987.26. This trade represents a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 17,417 shares of company stock worth $943,347 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Universal Company Profile

Universal Corporation processes and supplies leaf tobacco and plant-based ingredients worldwide. The company operates through two segments, Tobacco Operations; and Ingredients Operations. It is involved in the procuring, financing, processing, packing, storing, and shipping leaf tobacco for sale to manufacturers of consumer tobacco products.