Russell Investments Group Ltd. Purchases 711 Shares of Universal Co. (NYSE:UVV)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in shares of Universal Co. (NYSE:UVV) by 19.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,445 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 711 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Universal were worth $244,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its holdings in shares of Universal by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 31,838 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,746,000 after buying an additional 2,672 shares during the last quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Universal by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP now owns 31,384 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,721,000 after acquiring an additional 567 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in shares of Universal by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 26,993 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,480,000 after acquiring an additional 679 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Universal by 80.8% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 135,563 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,434,000 after purchasing an additional 60,580 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Heritage Wealth Advisors raised its holdings in Universal by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors now owns 26,605 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,459,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the period. 81.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Universal Stock Performance

NYSE:UVV opened at $57.54 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 2.60. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $53.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $53.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.42 billion, a PE ratio of 11.84 and a beta of 0.74. Universal Co. has a 52-week low of $45.19 and a 52-week high of $59.13.

Universal (NYSE:UVV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 21st. The company reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Universal had a return on equity of 8.92% and a net margin of 4.31%. The company had revenue of $937.19 million during the quarter.

Universal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 14th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 14th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.63%. Universal’s payout ratio is 66.67%.

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.