7,800 Shares in Universal Corporation (NYSE:UVV) Acquired by 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC

3Chopt Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in Universal Corporation (NYSE:UVV - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 7,800 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $437,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in shares of Universal by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 64,229 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,522,000 after purchasing an additional 1,113 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Universal by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 119,700 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,564,000 after purchasing an additional 3,338 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Universal by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 5,962 shares of the company's stock valued at $327,000 after purchasing an additional 767 shares during the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp grew its position in shares of Universal by 14.1% in the fourth quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 5,219 shares of the company's stock valued at $286,000 after purchasing an additional 646 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Universal by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 386,913 shares of the company's stock valued at $21,218,000 after purchasing an additional 27,480 shares during the last quarter. 81.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Universal from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 31st.

Universal Price Performance

Shares of UVV stock traded down $0.88 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $58.64. The company's stock had a trading volume of 300,072 shares, compared to its average volume of 168,351. The business has a fifty day moving average of $58.82 and a 200-day moving average of $55.35. The stock has a market cap of $1.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.51 and a beta of 0.78. Universal Corporation has a twelve month low of $46.26 and a twelve month high of $67.33. The company has a current ratio of 2.87, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Universal (NYSE:UVV - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Universal had a net margin of 3.22% and a return on equity of 7.89%. The firm had revenue of $702.28 million for the quarter.

Universal Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 4th. Investors of record on Monday, July 14th will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 14th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.59%. This is a positive change from Universal's previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. Universal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 85.71%.

Universal Company Profile

Universal Corporation processes and supplies leaf tobacco and plant-based ingredients worldwide. The company operates through two segments, Tobacco Operations; and Ingredients Operations. It is involved in the procuring, financing, processing, packing, storing, and shipping leaf tobacco for sale to manufacturers of consumer tobacco products.