10,579 Shares in Universal Insurance Holdings Inc (NYSE:UVE) Purchased by Leavell Investment Management Inc.

Leavell Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Universal Insurance Holdings Inc (NYSE:UVE - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 10,579 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $251,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Universal Insurance by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 608,889 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $12,823,000 after purchasing an additional 57,424 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in Universal Insurance by 60.9% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 21,162 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $446,000 after acquiring an additional 8,006 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Universal Insurance by 3,499.2% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 17,348 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $411,000 after acquiring an additional 16,866 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp bought a new stake in Universal Insurance during the fourth quarter worth $594,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in Universal Insurance by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 103,344 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,176,000 after acquiring an additional 10,131 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.61% of the company's stock.

Universal Insurance Stock Performance

Shares of UVE stock traded up $0.74 on Wednesday, hitting $24.88. The company's stock had a trading volume of 295,994 shares, compared to its average volume of 201,175. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 0.50. The stock's 50 day moving average is $26.35 and its 200-day moving average is $23.12. Universal Insurance Holdings Inc has a fifty-two week low of $16.50 and a fifty-two week high of $28.49. The company has a market capitalization of $700.26 million, a PE ratio of 10.86 and a beta of 0.86.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The insurance provider reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $394.87 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $354.97 million. Universal Insurance had a net margin of 4.31% and a return on equity of 15.73%. Equities research analysts expect that Universal Insurance Holdings Inc will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Universal Insurance Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be given a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.57%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 1st. Universal Insurance's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Universal Insurance from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Universal Insurance

In other Universal Insurance news, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 25,000 shares of Universal Insurance stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.91, for a total transaction of $672,750.00. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 926,667 shares of the company's stock, valued at $24,936,608.97. The trade was a 2.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Jon Springer sold 30,000 shares of Universal Insurance stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.06, for a total value of $811,800.00. Following the sale, the director owned 301,835 shares in the company, valued at $8,167,655.10. The trade was a 9.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 101,393 shares of company stock valued at $2,687,275. 17.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.