Bailard Inc. Makes New $344,000 Investment in Universal Insurance Holdings Inc (NYSE:UVE)

Bailard Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Universal Insurance Holdings Inc (NYSE:UVE - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 14,500 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $344,000. Bailard Inc. owned 0.05% of Universal Insurance as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of UVE. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Universal Insurance by 2.7% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 25,064 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $594,000 after purchasing an additional 649 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its position in shares of Universal Insurance by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 13,804 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $291,000 after buying an additional 732 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Universal Insurance by 12.0% during the fourth quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 12,189 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $257,000 after buying an additional 1,306 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Universal Insurance by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 21,799 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $459,000 after buying an additional 1,775 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 66.61% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.91, for a total value of $672,750.00. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 926,667 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,936,608.97. This trade represents a 2.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jon Springer sold 30,000 shares of Universal Insurance stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.06, for a total transaction of $811,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 301,835 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,167,655.10. The trade was a 9.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 101,393 shares of company stock valued at $2,687,275 over the last 90 days. 16.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Universal Insurance Stock Down 2.4%

NYSE UVE traded down $0.62 during trading on Thursday, reaching $24.84. 248,498 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 294,402. Universal Insurance Holdings Inc has a 12-month low of $16.50 and a 12-month high of $28.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.50 and a quick ratio of 0.50. The firm has a market cap of $699.25 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.85 and a beta of 0.86. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $26.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $23.33.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The insurance provider reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.14. Universal Insurance had a net margin of 4.31% and a return on equity of 15.73%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Universal Insurance Holdings Inc will post 1.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Universal Insurance Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.58%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 1st. Universal Insurance's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Universal Insurance from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th.

Universal Insurance Profile

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.