Bank of America Corp DE Buys 10,131 Shares of Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE)

Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE - Free Report) by 10.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 103,344 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 10,131 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned about 0.37% of Universal Insurance worth $2,176,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 732 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in 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. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Universal Insurance by 9.7% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 24,415 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $514,000 after buying an additional 2,160 shares during the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP increased its holdings in Universal Insurance by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 76,132 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,603,000 after buying an additional 3,221 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Universal Insurance by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,674,545 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $35,266,000 after buying an additional 4,480 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 66.61% of the company's stock.

Universal Insurance Stock Performance

UVE stock traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $27.50. 169,854 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 188,253. Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $16.50 and a 52-week high of $28.49. The stock has a market cap of $774.02 million, a P/E ratio of 11.18 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock's 50-day moving average is $24.79 and its 200 day moving average is $22.29.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The insurance provider reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.32. Universal Insurance had a net margin of 4.82% and a return on equity of 15.43%. The business had revenue of $394.87 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $354.97 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. will post 1.66 EPS for the current year.

Universal Insurance Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th were paid a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.33%. Universal Insurance's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Transactions at Universal Insurance

In other news, Director Jon Springer sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.06, for a total value of $811,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 301,835 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,167,655.10. This represents a 9.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.34, for a total transaction of $526,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 951,667 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $25,066,908.78. This trade represents a 2.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 76,393 shares of company stock valued at $2,014,525 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 16.60% of the company's stock.

About Universal Insurance

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.