Platinum Equity LLC Sells 3,919,119 Shares of UWM Holdings Corporation $UWMC

Platinum Equity LLC cut its holdings in UWM Holdings Corporation (NYSE:UWMC) by 56.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,990,201 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,919,119 shares during the quarter. UWM comprises approximately 37.6% of Platinum Equity LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Platinum Equity LLC’s holdings in UWM were worth $13,097,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in UWM by 5,681.9% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 4,163 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 4,091 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new position in UWM in the third quarter valued at $38,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in UWM in the second quarter valued at $35,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in UWM by 1,410.7% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 8,596 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 8,027 shares during the period. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth acquired a new position in UWM in the first quarter valued at $55,000. 53.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UWMC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of UWM in a research note on Friday, April 24th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $4.00 price objective on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and issued a $5.50 price objective on shares of UWM in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. BTIG Research dropped their price objective on shares of UWM to $4.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of UWM from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of UWM to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $5.19.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Ishbia Mat sold 1,003,333 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.57, for a total transaction of $3,581,898.81. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,995,754 shares in the company, valued at $10,694,841.78. The trade was a 25.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 22,941,486 shares of company stock worth $84,173,589 in the last quarter. Insiders own 80.30% of the company’s stock.

UWM Trading Up 3.6%

Shares of UWM stock opened at $2.44 on Wednesday. UWM Holdings Corporation has a 52-week low of $2.28 and a 52-week high of $7.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.13. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $3.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $4.22. The firm has a market cap of $3.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.02 and a beta of 1.72.

UWM (NYSE:UWMC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.03. UWM had a net margin of 1.92% and a return on equity of 19.01%. The business had revenue of $901.43 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $709.85 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that UWM Holdings Corporation will post 0.38 earnings per share for the current year.

UWM Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 16.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 18th. UWM’s payout ratio is 148.15%.

About UWM

United Wholesale Mortgage (NYSE: UWMC) is a leading mortgage lender in the United States specializing in the wholesale channel. The company partners with independent mortgage brokers, community banks and credit unions to offer a full suite of residential mortgage products. Through its network of third-party originators, United Wholesale Mortgage underwrites, funds and closes loans, allowing its partners to focus on customer acquisition and service.

The company’s product offerings include conventional fixed- and adjustable-rate mortgages, Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans, Veterans Affairs (VA) loans, U.S.