Universal (NYSE:UVV) Director Robert Sledd Sells 2,845 Shares

Universal Corporation (NYSE:UVV) Director Robert Sledd sold 2,845 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.12, for a total transaction of $153,971.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 11,959 shares in the company, valued at $647,221.08. This represents a 19.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Universal Trading Down 1.7%

UVV opened at $52.84 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.96, a P/E/G ratio of 4.17 and a beta of 0.59. Universal Corporation has a 12 month low of $49.19 and a 12 month high of $61.67. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $53.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $53.50. The company has a current ratio of 3.49, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Universal (NYSE:UVV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 28th. The company reported ($0.46) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($1.54). The firm had revenue of $715.24 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $728.20 million. Universal had a return on equity of 4.43% and a net margin of 1.12%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Universal Corporation will post 4.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Universal Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 13th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This is an increase from Universal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 13th. Universal’s payout ratio is currently 254.26%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Universal by 306.2% during the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 84,568 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,725,000 after purchasing an additional 63,749 shares during the last quarter. Vestcor Inc lifted its position in shares of Universal by 282.7% in the fourth quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 33,264 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,755,000 after buying an additional 24,571 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Universal by 917.9% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 578,564 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,324,000 after buying an additional 521,724 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its position in shares of Universal by 31.8% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 111,080 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,206,000 after buying an additional 26,801 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Universal by 130.7% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 24,016 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,267,000 after buying an additional 13,608 shares during the last quarter. 81.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UVV has been the subject of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings cut Universal from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Wall Street Zen cut Universal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Universal from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce”.

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.