Insider Selling: Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) Director Sells $1,219,250.00 in Stock

Universal Insurance Holdings Inc (NYSE:UVE) Director Jon Springer sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.77, for a total transaction of $1,219,250.00. Following the sale, the director owned 225,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,009,047.18. This represents a 9.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Jon Springer also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, November 4th, Jon Springer sold 16,380 shares of Universal Insurance stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.96, for a total transaction of $801,964.80.

Universal Insurance Stock Performance

Shares of UVE stock opened at $46.65 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company has a market cap of $1.29 billion, a PE ratio of 5.83 and a beta of 0.63. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $45.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $39.26. Universal Insurance Holdings Inc has a 52 week low of $28.32 and a 52 week high of $50.75.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The insurance provider reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.36. Universal Insurance had a return on equity of 38.15% and a net margin of 13.94%. The firm had revenue of $444.31 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $601.67 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Universal Insurance Holdings Inc will post 6.13 EPS for the current year.

Universal Insurance announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, October 29th that authorizes the company to repurchase $20 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the insurance provider to buy up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Universal Insurance Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 4th will be given a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 4th. Universal Insurance’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.00%.

Institutional Trading of Universal Insurance

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in Universal Insurance by 83.7% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 599 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new stake in Universal Insurance during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Universal Insurance by 4,847.3% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,721 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $93,000 after purchasing an additional 2,666 shares during the last quarter. Archer Investment Corp purchased a new stake in Universal Insurance during the 1st quarter worth approximately $95,000. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Universal Insurance in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $145,000. 66.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on UVE. Wall Street Zen lowered Universal Insurance from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 31st. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Universal Insurance from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 26th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Universal Insurance from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Universal Insurance from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (a+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Universal Insurance has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.00.

About Universal Insurance

Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc (NYSE: UVE) is an insurance holding company that provides property and casualty insurance through its subsidiaries. Its primary business is personal residential insurance, with products designed to protect homeowners and other residential property owners against risks such as wind, fire, theft and other covered losses.

The company’s offerings include homeowners, condominium unit owners, renters and dwelling fire insurance, along with related residential property coverage.