Sean Downes Sells 20,000 Shares of Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) Stock

Universal Insurance Holdings Inc (NYSE:UVE) Chairman Sean Downes sold 20,000 shares of Universal Insurance stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.22, for a total value of $764,400.00. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 1,148,255 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,886,306.10. This trade represents a 1.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Universal Insurance Trading Down 0.3%

UVE opened at $37.97 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.63 and a beta of 0.73. Universal Insurance Holdings Inc has a 52 week low of $21.96 and a 52 week high of $41.96. The business’s 50 day moving average is $37.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $34.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.61. The company had revenue of $398.16 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $481.09 million. Universal Insurance had a return on equity of 37.51% and a net margin of 12.22%. On average, research analysts predict that Universal Insurance Holdings Inc will post 4.63 EPS for the current year.

Universal Insurance Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Universal Insurance’s payout ratio is presently 9.48%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of UVE. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in Universal Insurance by 212.3% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 596,370 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $15,685,000 after acquiring an additional 405,403 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in Universal Insurance by 106.0% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 280,957 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $7,389,000 after acquiring an additional 144,553 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Universal Insurance by 19.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 815,484 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $27,566,000 after acquiring an additional 134,805 shares during the period. Informed Momentum Co LLC acquired a new position in Universal Insurance during the fourth quarter worth $4,481,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Universal Insurance by 5.9% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,953,721 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $51,383,000 after acquiring an additional 108,660 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.61% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Universal Insurance from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Zacks Research raised Universal Insurance from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Universal Insurance in a report on Monday, April 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have assigned a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $40.00.

About Universal Insurance

Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc (NYSE: UVE) is a property and casualty insurance holding company headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida. The company underwrites homeowners and other residential property insurance products to protect against natural catastrophes such as hurricanes, windstorms and fires. It distributes policies primarily through a network of independent agents and brokers, offering coverage for primary residences, secondary homes, condominiums, vacant dwellings and rental properties across its service territory.

In addition to personal lines, Universal provides commercial property and casualty insurance tailored to small businesses and institutional clients.