Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) Chairman Sean Downes Sells 20,000 Shares of Stock

Universal Insurance Holdings Inc (NYSE:UVE) Chairman Sean Downes sold 20,000 shares of Universal Insurance stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.73, for a total transaction of $774,600.00. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 1,168,255 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,246,516.15. The trade was a 1.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Universal Insurance Stock Performance

Shares of UVE stock opened at $38.67 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.73 and a beta of 0.77. The company’s 50 day moving average is $35.75 and its 200 day moving average is $33.48. 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 Holdings Inc has a 52-week low of $21.96 and a 52-week high of $41.96.

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

Universal Insurance Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UVE. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in Universal Insurance by 212.3% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 596,370 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $15,685,000 after purchasing an additional 405,403 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in Universal Insurance by 106.0% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 280,957 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $7,389,000 after buying an additional 144,553 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Universal Insurance by 19.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 815,484 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $27,566,000 after buying an additional 134,805 shares in the last quarter. Informed Momentum Co LLC purchased a new position in Universal Insurance in the fourth quarter valued at $4,481,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Universal Insurance by 5.9% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,953,721 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $51,383,000 after buying an additional 108,660 shares in the last quarter. 66.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on UVE shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Universal Insurance from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Zacks Research raised shares of Universal Insurance from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Universal Insurance in a report on Monday, April 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have given a Buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average 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.