LPL Financial LLC Has $1.48 Million Position in Universal Corporation $UVV

LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in Universal Corporation (NYSE:UVV) by 45.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,319 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,271 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned about 0.11% of Universal worth $1,475,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in UVV. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its stake in shares of Universal by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 31,838 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,746,000 after purchasing an additional 2,672 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Universal by 19.0% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 4,445 shares of the company’s stock valued at $244,000 after purchasing an additional 711 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Universal in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,329,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Universal by 828.9% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 771 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 688 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Universal by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 42,655 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,340,000 after purchasing an additional 2,090 shares in the last quarter. 81.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Universal Stock Performance

NYSE:UVV opened at $56.6240 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $56.09 and a 200-day moving average of $55.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.78, a P/E/G ratio of 6.27 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 2.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Universal Corporation has a twelve month low of $49.40 and a twelve month high of $67.33.

Universal (NYSE:UVV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $593.76 million during the quarter. Universal had a net margin of 3.51% and a return on equity of 8.46%.

Universal Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. Universal’s payout ratio is 79.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UVV has been the topic of several recent research reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Universal to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Universal from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Universal has an average rating of “Hold”.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Universal news, Director Lennart R. Freeman sold 2,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.89, for a total transaction of $148,092.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 19,669 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,040,293.41. The trade was a 12.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert C. Sledd sold 4,617 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.25, for a total transaction of $245,855.25. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 15,698 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $835,918.50. The trade was a 22.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

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.