Universal Co. (NYSE:UVV) Stake Lessened by Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lowered its holdings in Universal Co. (NYSE:UVV) by 30.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 40,047 shares of the company’s stock after selling 17,763 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Universal were worth $2,696,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Universal by 0.9% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 3,957,625 shares of the company’s stock valued at $229,820,000 after purchasing an additional 35,047 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Universal by 1.0% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,907,688 shares of the company’s stock worth $133,869,000 after acquiring an additional 28,806 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Universal by 2.6% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,897,546 shares of the company’s stock worth $100,361,000 after acquiring an additional 48,325 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Universal by 0.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,521,449 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,048,000 after acquiring an additional 7,077 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Universal by 21.7% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,139,598 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,800,000 after acquiring an additional 203,514 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.00% of the company’s stock.

Universal Trading Up 1.9 %

NYSE UVV opened at $51.46 on Friday. Universal Co. has a 1-year low of $44.40 and a 1-year high of $67.80. The company has a current ratio of 3.22, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The company has a market capitalization of $1.26 billion, a PE ratio of 9.69 and a beta of 0.79. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $50.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $53.82.

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

Universal Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 8th will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 5th. Universal’s payout ratio is 60.26%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Universal 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.