Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE) Chairman Sean P. Downes Sells 20,000 Shares

Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE) Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total value of $400,000.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 1,122,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,445,240. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Universal Insurance Price Performance

Universal Insurance stock opened at $19.29 on Monday. Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $11.15 and a 1 year high of $22.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.54. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $18.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $18.98. The company has a market cap of $549.38 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.56 and a beta of 0.88.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The insurance provider reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $380.21 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $340.09 million. Universal Insurance had a net margin of 5.60% and a return on equity of 21.14%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.87 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Universal Insurance Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 2nd will be issued a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.32%. Universal Insurance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.10%.

Institutional Trading of Universal Insurance

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of UVE. AJOVista LLC purchased a new position in Universal Insurance in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Occidental Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Universal Insurance in the 2nd quarter valued at $196,000. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Universal Insurance by 17.4% during the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 12,374 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $232,000 after acquiring an additional 1,833 shares in the last quarter. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC purchased a new stake in Universal Insurance during the 1st quarter worth $289,000. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System acquired a new stake in Universal Insurance in the 1st quarter valued at $326,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.61% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Universal Insurance from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 4th.

Universal Insurance Company Profile

Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated insurance holding company in the United States. It develops, markets, and underwrites insurance products for personal residential insurance, such as homeowners, renters/tenants, condo unit owners, and dwelling/fire; and offers allied lines, coverage for other structures, and personal property, liability, and personal articles coverages.