Insider Selling: Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) Chairman Sells $764,400.00 in Stock

Universal Insurance Holdings Inc (NYSE:UVE) Chairman Sean Downes sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.22, for a total value of $764,400.00. Following the sale, the chairman owned 1,148,255 shares in the company, valued at $43,886,306.10. The trade was a 1.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Universal Insurance Stock Up 0.1%

UVE stock opened at $37.97 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $37.26 and a 200 day moving average of $34.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.06 billion, a PE ratio of 5.63 and a beta of 0.74. Universal Insurance Holdings Inc has a 52 week low of $21.96 and a 52 week high of $41.96. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.61. Universal Insurance had a net margin of 12.22% and a return on equity of 37.51%. The business had revenue of $398.16 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $481.09 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that Universal Insurance Holdings Inc will post 4.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Universal Insurance Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th were given a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. Universal Insurance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.48%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Universal Insurance

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in Universal Insurance during the fourth quarter valued at $54,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in shares of 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 worth $74,000 after acquiring an additional 2,114 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Universal Insurance by 4,847.3% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,721 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $93,000 after acquiring an additional 2,666 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in shares of Universal Insurance by 492.4% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,796 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $95,000 after acquiring an additional 2,324 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Archer Investment Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Universal Insurance during the 1st quarter worth about $95,000. 66.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on UVE shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Universal Insurance from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Universal Insurance in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Universal Insurance from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. One 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 has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price 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.