DAVENPORT & Co LLC Has $6.21 Million Stock Holdings in Universal Corporation $UVV

Key Points

• DAVENPORT & Co LLC reduced its holdings in Universal Corporation by 14.7%, now owning approximately 0.43% of the company, valued at $6.21 million.
• A total of 81.00% of Universal's stock is currently held by institutional investors, with notable new stakes from several firms in the second quarter.
• Universal Corporation announced a quarterly dividend of $0.82 per share, reflecting a 6.0% yield and an annualized dividend of $3.28.

DAVENPORT & Co LLC cut its holdings in Universal Corporation (NYSE:UVV - Free Report) by 14.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 106,671 shares of the company's stock after selling 18,388 shares during the quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC owned about 0.43% of Universal worth $6,213,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Byrne Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Universal in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 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 worth $64,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas acquired a new stake in shares of Universal in the first quarter worth $202,000. Cetera Investment Advisers acquired a new stake in shares of Universal in the first quarter worth $233,000. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Universal in the second quarter worth $255,000. 81.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Universal

In other news, Director Lennart R. Freeman sold 2,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.89, for a total value of $148,092.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 19,669 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,040,293.41. This represents a 12.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Airton L. Hentschke sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.94, for a total transaction of $549,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 135,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,423,987.26. This represents a 6.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 17,417 shares of company stock worth $943,347 in the last ninety days. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Universal in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Universal to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Universal from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Universal has an average rating of "Moderate Buy".

Universal Price Performance

NYSE:UVV opened at $54.54 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $1.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.27, a PEG ratio of 6.18 and a beta of 0.74. Universal Corporation has a one year low of $49.40 and a one year high of $67.33. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $54.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $56.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.49 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

Universal (NYSE:UVV - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $593.76 million during the quarter. Universal had a net margin of 3.51% and a return on equity of 8.46%.

Universal Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, October 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. Universal's dividend payout ratio is presently 79.81%.

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.

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