Cerity Partners LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Universal Corporation (NYSE:UVV)

Cerity Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in Universal Corporation (NYSE:UVV - Free Report) by 62.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,162 shares of the company's stock after selling 38,983 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC owned about 0.09% of Universal worth $1,298,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Universal by 38.6% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,149 shares of the company's stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Universal by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,913,551 shares of the company's stock valued at $159,779,000 after buying an additional 38,940 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Universal by 8.6% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 15,155 shares of the company's stock valued at $849,000 after buying an additional 1,196 shares in the last quarter. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Universal during the first quarter valued at about $437,000. Finally, TrueMark Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Universal by 227.0% during the first quarter. TrueMark Investments LLC now owns 97,210 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,449,000 after purchasing an additional 67,481 shares in the last quarter. 81.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Universal Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of UVV traded up $0.10 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $54.95. 206,761 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 304,364. The company has a current ratio of 2.87, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $58.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $55.59. Universal Corporation has a 52 week low of $49.05 and a 52 week high of $67.33. The company has a market cap of $1.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.54 and a beta of 0.73.

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

Universal Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 4th. Investors of record on Monday, July 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 14th. This is an increase from Universal's previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. Universal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 86.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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 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.