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

Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE) Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.08, for a total value of $441,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 990,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,863,616. This trade represents a 1.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Universal Insurance Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:UVE opened at $22.15 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $626.39 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.00 and a beta of 0.91. Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $16.50 and a 1-year high of $23.39. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $20.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.73.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The insurance provider reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $384.81 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $349.91 million. Universal Insurance had a return on equity of 15.43% and a net margin of 4.82%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. will post 1.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Universal Insurance Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from Universal Insurance’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. Universal Insurance’s payout ratio is presently 32.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of Universal Insurance from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th.

Institutional Trading of Universal Insurance

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of UVE. Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of Universal Insurance by 240.1% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,881 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 1,328 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its position in Universal Insurance by 55.6% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,171 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 776 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in Universal Insurance during the 4th quarter worth approximately $103,000. Quantbot Technologies LP raised its stake in Universal Insurance by 45,981.8% during the 4th quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 5,069 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $107,000 after purchasing an additional 5,058 shares during the period. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Universal Insurance in the fourth quarter valued at $118,000. 66.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Universal Insurance

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.