Ameriprise Financial Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Universal Co. (NYSE:UVV)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. lowered its stake in Universal Co. (NYSE:UVV) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 83,157 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,504 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned 0.34% of Universal worth $4,560,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UVV. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Universal by 341.2% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 40,565 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,155,000 after buying an additional 31,370 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Universal by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 20,553 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,127,000 after acquiring an additional 2,648 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Universal by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 9,166 shares of the company’s stock worth $503,000 after acquiring an additional 556 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its stake in shares of Universal by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 14,322 shares of the company’s stock worth $785,000 after acquiring an additional 360 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Universal by 30.4% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,303 shares of the company’s stock worth $175,000 after purchasing an additional 770 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.00% of the company’s stock.

Universal Stock Up 1.1%

NYSE UVV opened at $59.26 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $55.52 and its 200 day moving average is $54.54. The company has a current ratio of 2.60, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Universal Co. has a 12 month low of $45.19 and a 12 month high of $59.83. The stock has a market cap of $1.46 billion, a PE ratio of 12.19 and a beta of 0.71.

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

Universal Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 14th will be issued a $0.82 dividend. This is an increase from Universal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.53%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 14th. Universal’s payout ratio is currently 64.54%.

About Universal

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.