TrueMark Investments LLC Acquires 67,481 Shares of Universal Corporation (NYSE:UVV)

TrueMark Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Universal Corporation (NYSE:UVV - Free Report) by 227.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 97,210 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 67,481 shares during the period. Universal accounts for about 1.4% of TrueMark Investments LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. TrueMark Investments LLC owned 0.39% of Universal worth $5,449,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in UVV. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Universal by 828.9% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 771 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 688 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp bought a new position in Universal in the fourth quarter valued at about $56,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Universal by 38.6% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,149 shares of the company's stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in Universal by 325.7% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,758 shares of the company's stock valued at $96,000 after acquiring an additional 1,345 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Universal in the fourth quarter valued at about $111,000. Institutional investors own 81.00% of the company's stock.

Universal Trading Up 2.1%

NYSE:UVV traded up $1.25 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $59.54. The company had a trading volume of 183,526 shares, compared to its average volume of 167,357. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 2.87. Universal Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $46.26 and a fifty-two week high of $67.33. The firm has a market cap of $1.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.75 and a beta of 0.78. The business's fifty day moving average is $58.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $55.27.

Universal (NYSE:UVV - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Universal had a return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 3.22%. The firm had revenue of $702.28 million for the quarter.

Universal Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. 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 5.51%. This is a boost from Universal's previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. Universal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 85.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Universal Company Profile

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.