Private Advisor Group LLC Makes New Investment in Universal Corporation (NYSE:UVV)

Private Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in Universal Corporation (NYSE:UVV) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 5,022 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $281,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Universal by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 6,186 shares of the company’s stock valued at $339,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Universal by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,913,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $159,779,000 after acquiring an additional 38,940 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Universal by 80.8% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 135,563 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,434,000 after acquiring an additional 60,580 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in Universal by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 26,993 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,480,000 after acquiring an additional 679 shares during the period. Finally, ExodusPoint Capital Management LP raised its position in shares of Universal by 1.8% in 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 in the last quarter. 81.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Universal Price Performance

Shares of UVV opened at $53.98 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.28 and a beta of 0.74. The business’s fifty day moving average is $58.23 and its 200 day moving average is $55.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 2.87 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.

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

Universal Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.1%. 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 is currently 86.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Universal Company 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.