19,999 Shares in Universal Co. (NYSE:UVV) Purchased by Cerity Partners LLC

Cerity Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Universal Co. (NYSE:UVV) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 19,999 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,346,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Universal in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $71,187,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Universal by 21.7% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,139,598 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,800,000 after buying an additional 203,514 shares during the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Universal by 19.0% in the 3rd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 1,117,463 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,755,000 after buying an additional 178,592 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Universal by 2,841.9% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 171,983 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 166,137 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Universal by 8.2% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,514,372 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,620,000 after acquiring an additional 114,160 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Universal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 10th.

Universal Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of UVV opened at $51.46 on Friday. Universal Co. has a 52-week low of $44.40 and a 52-week high of $67.80. The company has a market capitalization of $1.26 billion, a PE ratio of 9.69 and a beta of 0.79. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $50.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $53.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 3.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Universal (NYSE:UVV) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Universal had a return on equity of 7.46% and a net margin of 4.98%. The business had revenue of $821.51 million during the quarter.

Universal Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 8th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.22%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 5th. Universal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.26%.

Universal Company Profile

Universal Corporation processes and supplies leaf tobacco and plant-based ingredients worldwide. The company operates through two segments, Tobacco Operations; and Ingredients Operations. It is involved in the procuring, financing, processing, packing, storing, and shipping leaf tobacco for sale to manufacturers of consumer tobacco products.