Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) Chairman Sean Downes Sells 20,000 Shares of Stock

Universal Insurance Holdings Inc (NYSE:UVE) Chairman Sean Downes sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.27, for a total value of $885,400.00. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 1,104,645 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,902,634.15. This trade represents a 1.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Universal Insurance Trading Down 2.3%

UVE opened at $44.06 on Friday. Universal Insurance Holdings Inc has a twelve month low of $23.25 and a twelve month high of $45.15. The firm has a market cap of $1.23 billion, a PE ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.57. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $40.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.58.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $419.38 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $614.62 million. Universal Insurance had a return on equity of 37.67% and a net margin of 13.49%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Universal Insurance Holdings Inc will post 4.85 EPS for the current year.

Universal Insurance Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 7th. Investors of record on Friday, July 31st were issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 31st. Universal Insurance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.44%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Universal Insurance

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UVE. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Universal Insurance in the second quarter valued at $111,007,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Universal Insurance by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,007,725 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $67,861,000 after acquiring an additional 54,004 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Universal Insurance by 19.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 815,484 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $27,566,000 after acquiring an additional 134,805 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Universal Insurance by 9.4% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 805,199 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $19,083,000 after acquiring an additional 69,289 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its position in Universal Insurance by 212.3% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 596,370 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $15,685,000 after acquiring an additional 405,403 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.61% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Universal Insurance from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Universal Insurance from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Universal Insurance from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Universal Insurance in a research note on Friday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Universal Insurance has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $45.00.

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.