Sierra Summit Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 29,774 Universal Insurance Holdings Inc $UVE

Sierra Summit Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Universal Insurance Holdings Inc (NYSE:UVE) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 29,774 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,006,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in UVE. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in Universal Insurance by 4.7% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 13,976 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $331,000 after purchasing an additional 630 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in Universal Insurance by 171.5% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 343,786 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $8,148,000 after purchasing an additional 217,184 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in Universal Insurance by 9.4% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 805,199 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $19,083,000 after purchasing an additional 69,289 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC raised its position in Universal Insurance by 73.1% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 81,829 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,939,000 after purchasing an additional 34,556 shares during the period. Finally, Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in Universal Insurance during the first quarter valued at approximately $180,000. 66.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Universal Insurance

In related news, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.60, for a total value of $692,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 1,206,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,754,864.80. This represents a 1.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Kimberly D. Campos sold 879 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.84, for a total value of $29,745.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 7,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $251,160.48. This trade represents a 10.59% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 60,879 shares of company stock worth $2,290,145. 15.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UVE has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Zacks Research upgraded Universal Insurance from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Universal Insurance from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Universal Insurance in a research report on Monday, April 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have assigned a Buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Universal Insurance has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $40.00.

Universal Insurance Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:UVE opened at $39.90 on Thursday. Universal Insurance Holdings Inc has a 52-week low of $21.96 and a 52-week high of $41.96. The stock has a market cap of $1.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.91 and a beta of 0.77. The business’s 50 day moving average is $36.03 and its 200 day moving average is $33.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.61. Universal Insurance had a return on equity of 37.51% and a net margin of 12.22%.The company had revenue of $398.16 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $481.09 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Universal Insurance Holdings Inc will post 4.75 EPS for the current year.

Universal Insurance Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were paid a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. Universal Insurance’s dividend payout ratio is 9.48%.

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.