Bank of New York Mellon Corp Sells 10,526 Shares of Universal Corporation (NYSE:UVV)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lessened its holdings in Universal Corporation (NYSE:UVV) by 2.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 376,387 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,526 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned approximately 1.52% of Universal worth $21,096,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Universal by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,913,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $159,779,000 after purchasing an additional 38,940 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Universal by 25.3% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 995,262 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,580,000 after purchasing an additional 201,185 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Universal by 15.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 285,785 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,672,000 after purchasing an additional 38,914 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its holdings in shares of Universal by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 285,111 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,343,000 after purchasing an additional 15,056 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in Universal by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 264,424 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,501,000 after buying an additional 13,239 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.00% of the company’s stock.

Universal Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE UVV opened at $55.48 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.87, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Universal Corporation has a 12 month low of $49.05 and a 12 month high of $67.33. The stock has a market cap of $1.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.68 and a beta of 0.73. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $58.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $55.55.

Universal (NYSE:UVV) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $702.28 million for the quarter. Universal had a return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 3.22%.

Universal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 4th. Investors of record on Monday, July 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. This is a positive change from Universal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 14th. Universal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 86.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.