Martingale Asset Management L P Purchases 36,982 Shares of Universal Insurance Holdings Inc $UVE

Key Points

• Martingale Asset Management L P increased its holdings in Universal Insurance Holdings Inc by 103.3% during the first quarter, owning 72,774 shares valued at approximately $1.73 million.
• Insider selling occurred with Director Jon Springer and Chairman Sean P. Downes selling 30,000 and 25,000 shares respectively, decreasing their ownership percentages.
• Universal Insurance recently reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, exceeding estimates, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.16 per share with a 2.6% dividend yield.

Martingale Asset Management L P raised its position in shares of Universal Insurance Holdings Inc (NYSE:UVE - Free Report) by 103.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 72,774 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 36,982 shares during the quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P owned 0.26% of Universal Insurance worth $1,725,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Universal Insurance during the 4th quarter valued at $118,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Universal Insurance in the 4th quarter worth $121,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Universal Insurance by 56.7% in the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 5,758 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $121,000 after buying an additional 2,083 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in Universal Insurance by 57.5% in the 1st quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 5,829 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $138,000 after buying an additional 2,127 shares during the period. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in Universal Insurance in the 1st quarter worth approximately $148,000. 66.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.91, for a total value of $672,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 926,667 shares of the company's stock, valued at $24,936,608.97. This trade represents a 2.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Jon Springer sold 30,000 shares of Universal Insurance stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 301,835 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,167,655.10. This trade represents a 9.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 17.50% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Universal Insurance from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd.

Universal Insurance Price Performance

Shares of UVE stock traded up $0.42 on Wednesday, reaching $24.58. The company's stock had a trading volume of 90,485 shares, compared to its average volume of 212,348. The company has a market capitalization of $696.08 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.73 and a beta of 0.87. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $24.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $24.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. Universal Insurance Holdings Inc has a 1 year low of $16.50 and a 1 year high of $28.49.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The insurance provider reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $596.72 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $359.98 million. Universal Insurance had a net margin of 4.24% and a return on equity of 15.37%. Analysts forecast that Universal Insurance Holdings Inc will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Universal Insurance Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st were paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. Universal Insurance's payout ratio is presently 27.95%.

Universal Insurance 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.