Picton Mahoney Asset Management Sells 17,516 Shares of Universal Insurance Holdings Inc $UVE

Picton Mahoney Asset Management lowered its position in shares of Universal Insurance Holdings Inc (NYSE:UVE) by 35.6% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 31,747 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 17,516 shares during the period. Picton Mahoney Asset Management’s holdings in Universal Insurance were worth $835,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State of Alaska Department of Revenue bought a new position in shares of Universal Insurance during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. lifted its position in Universal Insurance by 28.6% during the second quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 2,597 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 577 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in Universal Insurance by 390.0% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,656 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 2,114 shares in the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in Universal Insurance by 11.3% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 5,249 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $146,000 after purchasing an additional 534 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio purchased a new position in Universal Insurance in the first quarter worth $180,000. 66.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Universal Insurance

In related news, CEO Stephen Donaghy sold 25,000 shares of Universal Insurance stock in a transaction on Monday, December 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.07, for a total transaction of $851,750.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 679,961 shares in the company, valued at $23,166,271.27. This trade represents a 3.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.82, for a total value of $676,400.00. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 1,243,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,055,575.84. The trade was a 1.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 46,855 shares of company stock worth $1,590,497 over the last three months. Insiders own 16.60% of the company’s stock.

Universal Insurance Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of Universal Insurance stock opened at $35.13 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $31.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $30.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $983.99 million, a PE ratio of 5.57 and a beta of 0.67. Universal Insurance Holdings Inc has a twelve month low of $20.32 and a twelve month high of $36.68.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The insurance provider reported $2.17 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.87. Universal Insurance had a return on equity of 37.28% and a net margin of 11.41%.The firm had revenue of $403.57 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $372.99 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Universal Insurance Holdings Inc will post 1.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Universal Insurance Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. Universal Insurance’s dividend payout ratio is 10.14%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Universal Insurance in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Universal Insurance from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Zacks Research upgraded Universal Insurance from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Universal Insurance from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, December 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have given a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Universal Insurance presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $40.00.

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.