Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 20,526 Shares of Universal Insurance Holdings Inc $UVE

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in Universal Insurance Holdings Inc (NYSE:UVE) by 35.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 38,143 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 20,526 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Universal Insurance were worth $1,303,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Universal Insurance by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,007,725 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $67,861,000 after purchasing an additional 54,004 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Universal Insurance by 19.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 815,484 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $27,566,000 after purchasing an additional 134,805 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Universal Insurance by 9.4% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 805,199 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $19,083,000 after buying an additional 69,289 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in Universal Insurance by 11.5% during the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 506,683 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $13,326,000 after buying an additional 52,187 shares in the last quarter. 66.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Universal Insurance Stock Down 2.4%

UVE stock opened at $43.95 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $39.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $36.02. Universal Insurance Holdings Inc has a 12 month low of $22.87 and a 12 month high of $45.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.80 and a beta of 0.72.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $419.38 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $614.62 million. Universal Insurance had a net margin of 13.49% and a return on equity of 37.67%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Universal Insurance Holdings Inc will post 4.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Universal Insurance Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be paid a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 31st. Universal Insurance’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Research downgraded Universal Insurance from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Wall Street Zen cut Universal Insurance from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Universal Insurance from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Universal Insurance in a research report on Friday, July 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $45.00.

Insider Activity at Universal Insurance

In related news, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.22, for a total transaction of $764,400.00. Following the sale, the chairman owned 1,148,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,886,306.10. This trade represents a 1.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 15.00% of the company’s stock.

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.