BlackRock Inc. Acquires Shares of 2,683,917 Universal Insurance Holdings Inc $UVE

BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Universal Insurance Holdings Inc (NYSE:UVE - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 2,683,917 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $111,007,000. BlackRock Inc. owned approximately 9.64% of Universal Insurance at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in Universal Insurance by 390.0% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,656 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 2,114 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Universal Insurance by 4,847.3% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,721 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $93,000 after buying an additional 2,666 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Universal Insurance by 492.4% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,796 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $95,000 after buying an additional 2,324 shares during the period. Archer Investment Corp bought a new position in shares of Universal Insurance during the 1st quarter worth $95,000. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Universal Insurance by 170,750.0% during the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 3,417 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $117,000 after buying an additional 3,415 shares in the last quarter. 66.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on UVE shares. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Universal Insurance from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Universal Insurance from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, August 9th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Universal Insurance from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Universal Insurance from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Universal Insurance currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $45.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 20,000 shares of Universal Insurance stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.27, for a total value of $885,400.00. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 1,104,645 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,902,634.15. The trade was a 1.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 15.00% of the company's stock.

Universal Insurance Price Performance

NYSE UVE opened at $43.54 on Friday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $42.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $37.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Universal Insurance Holdings Inc has a 12-month low of $24.09 and a 12-month high of $45.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.74 and a beta of 0.72.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.27. Universal Insurance had a return on equity of 37.67% and a net margin of 13.49%.The firm had revenue of $419.38 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $614.62 million. Analysts forecast that Universal Insurance Holdings Inc will post 4.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Universal Insurance Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 7th. Investors of record on Friday, July 31st were given a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 31st. Universal Insurance's dividend payout ratio is 8.44%.

Universal Insurance Profile

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.

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