GAMMA Investing LLC Acquires 63,572 Shares of Universal Co. (NYSE:UVV)

GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Universal Co. (NYSE:UVV - Free Report) by 7,668.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 64,401 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 63,572 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC owned 0.26% of Universal worth $3,610,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of UVV. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Universal by 25.3% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 995,262 shares of the company's stock valued at $54,580,000 after purchasing an additional 201,185 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Universal by 80.8% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 135,563 shares of the company's stock worth $7,434,000 after buying an additional 60,580 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Universal by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,913,551 shares of the company's stock worth $159,779,000 after purchasing an additional 38,940 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Universal by 15.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 285,785 shares of the company's stock worth $15,672,000 after purchasing an additional 38,914 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Universal by 148.5% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 62,145 shares of the company's stock worth $3,405,000 after purchasing an additional 37,141 shares during the last quarter. 81.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Universal from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 31st.

Universal Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of UVV stock traded down $0.73 on Friday, hitting $60.31. The company's stock had a trading volume of 222,982 shares, compared to its average volume of 163,668. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 2.60 and a quick ratio of 0.96. Universal Co. has a fifty-two week low of $45.73 and a fifty-two week high of $67.33. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $57.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $55.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.41 and a beta of 0.78.

Universal (NYSE:UVV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $702.28 million during the quarter. Universal had a net margin of 4.31% and a return on equity of 8.92%.

Universal Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 14th will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This is a positive change from Universal's previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 14th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.44%. Universal's payout ratio is currently 86.77%.

About Universal

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.