Intech Investment Management LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Universal Insurance Holdings Inc $UVE

Intech Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in Universal Insurance Holdings Inc (NYSE:UVE) by 18.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,531 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 2,566 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Universal Insurance were worth $320,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Universal Insurance by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,971 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $284,000 after purchasing an additional 563 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in shares of Universal Insurance by 57.5% during the 1st quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 5,829 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $138,000 after purchasing an additional 2,127 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Universal Insurance by 26.7% during the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 35,728 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $847,000 after buying an additional 7,528 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of Universal Insurance by 11.5% in the first quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 217,754 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $5,161,000 after buying an additional 22,487 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Donald Smith & CO. Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $43,530,000 after buying an additional 116,199 shares during the period. 66.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Universal Insurance Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:UVE opened at $33.13 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $929.26 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.81 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a 50 day moving average of $30.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $27.19. Universal Insurance Holdings Inc has a 52-week low of $18.72 and a 52-week high of $35.84. 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 (NYSE:UVE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $400.03 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $366.36 million. Universal Insurance had a net margin of 7.74% and a return on equity of 28.25%. As a group, analysts forecast that Universal Insurance Holdings Inc will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Universal Insurance Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Universal Insurance

In other Universal Insurance news, Director Jon Springer sold 24,308 shares of Universal Insurance stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.51, for a total transaction of $838,869.08. Following the sale, the director directly owned 247,320 shares in the company, valued at $8,535,013.20. The trade was a 8.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.46, for a total value of $669,200.00. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 1,263,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,277,111.52. This trade represents a 1.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 119,743 shares of company stock worth $3,756,082 over the last 90 days. 16.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Universal Insurance

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.