Universal Corporation $UVV Shares Purchased by LPL Financial LLC

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC has increased its stake in Universal Corporation by 45.8%, owning a total of 26,319 shares valued at approximately $1.48 million.
• Universal Corporation declared a quarterly dividend of $0.82 per share, amounting to an annualized value of $3.28, with a yield of 5.8%.
• Recent research reports have seen Zacks Research upgrade the stock rating from "hold" to "buy," indicating a positive outlook for Universal Corporation.

LPL Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Universal Corporation (NYSE:UVV - Free Report) by 45.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,319 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 8,271 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned approximately 0.11% of Universal worth $1,475,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cetera Investment Advisers purchased a new stake in shares of Universal during the first quarter valued at approximately $233,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in shares of Universal during the first quarter valued at approximately $702,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its stake in shares of Universal by 26.9% during the first quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 123,813 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,940,000 after purchasing an additional 26,210 shares during the period. Denali Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Universal during the first quarter valued at approximately $443,000. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Universal during the first quarter valued at approximately $281,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.00% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Universal to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. 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 Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Universal presently has an average rating of "Hold".

Universal Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:UVV traded down $0.09 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $55.24. The company had a trading volume of 193,880 shares, compared to its average volume of 240,800. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.49 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $55.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $55.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.44, a PEG ratio of 6.22 and a beta of 0.74. Universal Corporation has a one year low of $49.40 and a one year high of $67.33.

Universal (NYSE:UVV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business 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 firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 13th will be issued a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. Universal's payout ratio is currently 79.81%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Universal news, Director Lennart R. Freeman sold 2,800 shares of Universal 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 of the company's stock, valued at $1,040,293.41. The trade was a 12.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Robert C. Sledd sold 4,617 shares of Universal stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.25, for a total transaction of $245,855.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 15,698 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $835,918.50. This represents a 22.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 17,417 shares of company stock valued at $943,347 over the last 90 days. 1.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.