D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Reduces Position in Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. reduced its stake in Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE - Free Report) by 33.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 145,233 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 73,174 shares during the quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. owned 0.51% of Universal Insurance worth $3,059,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of UVE. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. grew its stake in shares of Universal Insurance by 11.3% in the 4th quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 1,720,519 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $36,234,000 after purchasing an additional 174,843 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Universal Insurance by 128,888.9% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 58,045 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,222,000 after acquiring an additional 58,000 shares in the last quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Universal Insurance in the fourth quarter worth $1,212,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Universal Insurance by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 608,889 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $12,823,000 after acquiring an additional 57,424 shares during the period. Finally, Integrated Quantitative Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Universal Insurance in the fourth quarter valued at $1,137,000. 66.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com raised Universal Insurance from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.08, for a total value of $441,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 990,200 shares in the company, valued at $21,863,616. This trade represents a 1.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Jon Springer sold 26,393 shares of Universal Insurance stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.61, for a total value of $675,924.73. Following the sale, the director now owns 331,835 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,498,294.35. This represents a 7.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 86,393 shares of company stock worth $2,085,925 over the last 90 days. 16.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Universal Insurance Price Performance

Universal Insurance stock opened at $26.70 on Tuesday. Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $16.50 and a one year high of $26.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.51. The business has a fifty day moving average of $23.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $21.79. The company has a market cap of $751.47 million, a P/E ratio of 10.85 and a beta of 0.83.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE - Get Free Report) last released 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 return on equity of 15.43% and a net margin of 4.82%. The company had revenue of $394.87 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $354.97 million. As a group, analysts predict that Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Universal Insurance Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th were given a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. Universal Insurance's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.95%.

Universal Insurance Company 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.