Insider Selling: Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) Chairman Sells $692,000.00 in Stock

Universal Insurance Holdings Inc (NYSE:UVE) Chairman Sean Downes sold 20,000 shares of Universal Insurance stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.60, for a total transaction of $692,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 1,206,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,754,864.80. This trade represents a 1.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Universal Insurance Price Performance

Universal Insurance stock opened at $34.18 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Universal Insurance Holdings Inc has a 52-week low of $20.83 and a 52-week high of $36.68. The firm has a market cap of $957.27 million, a PE ratio of 5.42 and a beta of 0.67. The company’s 50 day moving average is $32.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.46.

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

Universal Insurance Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th were paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. Universal Insurance’s payout ratio is presently 10.14%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Universal Insurance

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of UVE. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in Universal Insurance by 212.3% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 596,370 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $15,685,000 after buying an additional 405,403 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in Universal Insurance by 106.0% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 280,957 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $7,389,000 after buying an additional 144,553 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in shares of Universal Insurance by 43.9% during the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 454,496 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $12,603,000 after acquiring an additional 138,732 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Universal Insurance by 19.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 815,484 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $27,566,000 after acquiring an additional 134,805 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Informed Momentum Co LLC purchased a new position in shares of Universal Insurance in the 4th quarter valued at about $4,481,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.61% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Universal Insurance in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Universal Insurance from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised Universal Insurance from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 27th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Universal Insurance from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have issued a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $40.00.

About Universal Insurance

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.