Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 649 Shares of Universal Insurance Holdings Inc (NYSE:UVE)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Universal Insurance Holdings Inc (NYSE:UVE) by 2.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 25,064 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 649 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.09% of Universal Insurance worth $594,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of UVE. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in Universal Insurance in the 4th quarter worth about $103,000. Quantbot Technologies LP grew its stake in shares of Universal Insurance by 45,981.8% during the 4th quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 5,069 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $107,000 after purchasing an additional 5,058 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Universal Insurance during the 4th quarter valued at about $118,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Universal Insurance during the 4th quarter valued at about $121,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Universal Insurance by 56.7% during the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 5,758 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $121,000 after purchasing an additional 2,083 shares during the period. 66.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Universal Insurance Trading Up 0.3%

Universal Insurance stock opened at $25.20 on Monday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.22. The company has a market cap of $709.25 million, a P/E ratio of 11.00 and a beta of 0.86. Universal Insurance Holdings Inc has a 52-week low of $16.50 and a 52-week high of $28.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The insurance provider reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.32. Universal Insurance had a return on equity of 15.73% and a net margin of 4.31%. The firm had revenue of $394.87 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $354.97 million. Analysts predict that Universal Insurance Holdings Inc will post 1.66 EPS for the current year.

Universal Insurance Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be given a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 1st. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.54%. Universal Insurance’s payout ratio is currently 27.95%.

Insider Transactions at Universal Insurance

In other news, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 25,000 shares of Universal Insurance stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.91, for a total transaction of $672,750.00. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 926,667 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,936,608.97. The trade was a 2.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Jon Springer sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.06, for a total value of $811,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 301,835 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,167,655.10. This represents a 9.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 101,393 shares of company stock worth $2,687,275. Insiders own 16.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wall Street Zen upgraded Universal Insurance from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th.

Universal Insurance Company Profile

Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated insurance holding company in the United States. It develops, markets, and underwrites insurance products for personal residential insurance, such as homeowners, renters/tenants, condo unit owners, and dwelling/fire; and offers allied lines, coverage for other structures, and personal property, liability, and personal articles coverages.