Voya Investment Management LLC Has $601,000 Stock Position in Universal Corporation $UVV

Voya Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Universal Corporation (NYSE:UVV) by 21.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,721 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,913 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Universal were worth $601,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Universal by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,929,721 shares of the company’s stock valued at $164,211,000 after buying an additional 16,170 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Universal by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 582,530 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,651,000 after acquiring an additional 7,402 shares during the period. Boston Partners lifted its stake in shares of Universal by 19.4% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 340,281 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,918,000 after buying an additional 55,170 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Universal by 0.4% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 265,472 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,880,000 after acquiring an additional 1,048 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Universal by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 227,153 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,732,000 after purchasing an additional 3,547 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UVV has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Universal to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Universal from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert C. Sledd sold 4,617 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $835,918.50. This trade represents a 22.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lennart R. Freeman sold 2,800 shares of the company’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 sale, the director directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 17,417 shares of company stock valued at $943,347. Company insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Universal Stock Up 0.1%

UVV stock opened at $54.92 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 2.49. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $54.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $56.24. The company has a market capitalization of $1.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.16 and a beta of 0.75. Universal Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $49.40 and a fifty-two week 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 (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $593.76 million for the quarter. Universal had a return on equity of 8.46% and a net margin of 3.51%.

Universal Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.0%. Universal’s payout ratio is currently 79.81%.

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.