Bank of New York Mellon Corp Acquires 9,046 Shares of Universal Insurance Holdings Inc $UVE

Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Universal Insurance Holdings Inc (NYSE:UVE) by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 255,200 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,046 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 0.90% of Universal Insurance worth $7,077,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Universal Insurance by 171.5% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 343,786 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $8,148,000 after purchasing an additional 217,184 shares during the last quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. grew its holdings in Universal Insurance by 6.8% during the first quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 1,836,718 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $43,530,000 after buying an additional 116,199 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Universal Insurance in the 1st quarter valued at $2,197,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in Universal Insurance by 9.4% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 805,199 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $19,083,000 after acquiring an additional 69,289 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Universal Insurance by 9.8% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 668,641 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $15,847,000 after acquiring an additional 59,752 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.61% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on UVE. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Universal Insurance in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Universal Insurance from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 1st. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Universal Insurance from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has issued a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Strong Buy”.

Insider Activity

In other Universal Insurance news, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.40, for a total transaction of $628,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 1,283,512 shares in the company, valued at $40,302,276.80. This trade represents a 1.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Jon Springer sold 24,308 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.51, for a total transaction of $838,869.08. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 247,320 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,535,013.20. This trade represents a 8.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 99,743 shares of company stock valued at $3,086,882. 16.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Universal Insurance Stock Up 2.4%

Universal Insurance stock opened at $33.37 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $29.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $26.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Universal Insurance Holdings Inc has a twelve month low of $18.72 and a twelve month high of $35.84. The company has a market capitalization of $935.94 million, a P/E ratio of 7.87 and a beta of 0.77.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.26. Universal Insurance had a return on equity of 28.25% and a net margin of 7.74%.The business had revenue of $400.03 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $366.36 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that Universal Insurance Holdings Inc will post 1.66 EPS for the current year.

Universal Insurance Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a special dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. This represents a dividend yield of 195.0%. Universal Insurance’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.09%.

Universal Insurance 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.