Universal Corporation $UVV Shares Sold by Navellier & Associates Inc.

Navellier & Associates Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Universal Corporation (NYSE:UVV) by 82.9% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 10,104 shares of the company’s stock after selling 48,914 shares during the period. Navellier & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Universal were worth $527,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Universal by 30.9% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,980 shares of the company’s stock worth $208,000 after purchasing an additional 940 shares in the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Universal by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 23,641 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,233,000 after purchasing an additional 630 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of Universal by 21.2% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 65,906 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,473,000 after purchasing an additional 11,517 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new stake in Universal during the first quarter worth $508,000. Finally, Arkadios Wealth Advisors boosted its holdings in Universal by 16.9% during the first quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 37,283 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,965,000 after buying an additional 5,397 shares in the last quarter. 81.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Universal from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Zacks Research raised shares of Universal from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Universal from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Universal Price Performance

Universal stock opened at $45.82 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.51, a P/E/G ratio of 14.38 and a beta of 0.60. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $50.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $52.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 2.57. Universal Corporation has a 1 year low of $43.36 and a 1 year high of $59.38.

Universal (NYSE:UVV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported ($0.18) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by ($0.43). The company had revenue of $523.78 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $587.00 million. Universal had a return on equity of 3.50% and a net margin of 0.67%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Universal Corporation will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Universal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 9th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.2%. Universal’s payout ratio is currently 431.17%.

Insider Transactions at Universal

In related news, Director Robert C. Sledd sold 2,845 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.12, for a total transaction of $153,971.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 11,959 shares in the company, valued at $647,221.08. This represents a 19.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Lennart R. Freeman sold 1,782 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.82, for a total transaction of $88,779.24. Following the transaction, the director owned 16,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $843,701.70. This trade represents a 9.52% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 2.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Universal

Universal Corporation (NYSE: UVV) is a global agribusiness company primarily engaged in the procurement, processing and sale of leaf tobacco. Headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, the company sources cured leaf tobacco from key growing regions in North and South America, Africa and Asia. Universal serves major multinational tobacco manufacturers by providing a full range of services including inventory management, quality control and logistics support to ensure a consistent and reliable supply of tobacco leaf.

In addition to its core leaf tobacco operations, Universal offers integrated supply-chain services that encompass warehousing, distribution and ingredient sourcing for smokeless and novel tobacco products.