Rhumbline Advisers Lowers Holdings in Universal Insurance Holdings Inc $UVE

Key Points

• Rhumbline Advisers has reduced its holdings in Universal Insurance Holdings Inc by 41.2%, selling 25,539 shares to end up with 36,396 shares valued at $863,000.
• Several institutional investors have increased their stakes in Universal Insurance, with notable increases from Jane Street Group LLC by 73.1% and Millennium Management LLC by 171.5% during the first quarter.
• Universal Insurance recently reported a quarterly EPS of $1.23, exceeding analysts' expectations, and has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.16 per share, reflecting a 2.5% dividend yield.

Rhumbline Advisers trimmed its holdings in shares of Universal Insurance Holdings Inc (NYSE:UVE - Free Report) by 41.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 36,396 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 25,539 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers owned about 0.13% of Universal Insurance worth $863,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Quarry LP bought a new position in Universal Insurance during the first quarter worth about $59,000. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in Universal Insurance during the first quarter worth about $64,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Universal Insurance during the fourth quarter worth about $118,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Universal Insurance by 56.7% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in Universal Insurance by 57.5% during the first 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 in the last quarter. 66.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Universal Insurance Price Performance

Shares of UVE traded up $0.19 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $25.80. The company had a trading volume of 143,256 shares, compared to its average volume of 150,255. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $24.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.60. Universal Insurance Holdings Inc has a 1-year low of $16.50 and a 1-year high of $28.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.58. The company has a market capitalization of $730.66 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.27 and a beta of 0.87.

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

Universal Insurance Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st were paid a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. Universal Insurance's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Transactions at Universal Insurance

In other Universal Insurance news, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.35, for a total value of $507,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 1,303,512 shares of the company's stock, valued at $33,044,029.20. This represents a 1.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 17.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Universal Insurance

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.