Universal Corporation $UVV Shares Purchased by DAVENPORT & Co LLC

DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its position in shares of Universal Corporation (NYSE:UVV) by 29.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 138,568 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 31,897 shares during the quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC owned about 0.56% of Universal worth $7,742,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Byrne Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Universal in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Universal by 265.0% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 719 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares during the last quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Universal during the 2nd quarter worth $44,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its position in Universal by 63.2% during the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,343 shares of the company’s stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 520 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in Universal by 109.6% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,308 shares of the company’s stock worth $134,000 after purchasing an additional 1,207 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.00% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on UVV shares. Zacks Research raised shares of Universal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Universal in a research note on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has assigned a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Strong Buy”.

Universal Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:UVV opened at $53.24 on Friday. Universal Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $49.40 and a fifty-two week high of $67.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 2.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $52.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $54.84. The company has a market cap of $1.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.99, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.68.

Universal (NYSE:UVV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.18. Universal had a net margin of 3.74% and a return on equity of 8.24%. The firm had revenue of $754.18 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $704.30 million.

Universal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, January 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 12th. Universal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 73.87%.

Universal Company Profile

Universal Corporation (NYSE: UVV) is a global agribusiness company primarily engaged in the procurement, processing and sale of leaf tobacco. Headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, the company sources cured leaf tobacco from key growing regions in North and South America, Africa and Asia. Universal serves major multinational tobacco manufacturers by providing a full range of services including inventory management, quality control and logistics support to ensure a consistent and reliable supply of tobacco leaf.

In addition to its core leaf tobacco operations, Universal offers integrated supply-chain services that encompass warehousing, distribution and ingredient sourcing for smokeless and novel tobacco products.