Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Universal Corporation (NYSE:UVV)

Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Universal Corporation (NYSE:UVV) by 8.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,155 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,196 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. owned 0.06% of Universal worth $849,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of UVV. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Universal by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,913,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $159,779,000 after buying an additional 38,940 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Universal by 25.3% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 995,262 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,580,000 after buying an additional 201,185 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Universal by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 575,128 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,540,000 after buying an additional 32,445 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Universal by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 386,913 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,218,000 after buying an additional 27,480 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Universal by 15.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 285,785 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,672,000 after buying an additional 38,914 shares during the period. 81.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Universal Stock Performance

Shares of UVV opened at $58.70 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.87 and a quick ratio of 1.55. Universal Corporation has a one year low of $46.26 and a one year high of $67.33. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $59.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.46 billion, a PE ratio of 15.53 and a beta of 0.73.

Universal (NYSE:UVV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter. Universal had a net margin of 3.22% and a return on equity of 7.89%. The business had revenue of $702.28 million during the quarter.

Universal Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 4th. Investors of record on Monday, July 14th will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.59%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 14th. This is a positive change from Universal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. Universal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 85.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Universal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 31st.

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.