Universal Co. (NYSE:UVV) Shares Sold by Two Sigma Investments LP

Two Sigma Investments LP decreased its stake in shares of Universal Co. (NYSE:UVV - Free Report) by 43.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 32,165 shares of the company's stock after selling 25,046 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP owned 0.13% of Universal worth $1,764,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of UVV. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Universal by 25.3% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 995,262 shares of the company's stock worth $54,580,000 after buying an additional 201,185 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Universal by 80.8% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 135,563 shares of the company's stock worth $7,434,000 after buying an additional 60,580 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Universal by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,913,551 shares of the company's stock worth $159,779,000 after buying an additional 38,940 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Universal by 15.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 285,785 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,672,000 after purchasing an additional 38,914 shares during the period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Universal by 148.5% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 62,145 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,405,000 after purchasing an additional 37,141 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.00% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Wall Street Zen downgraded Universal from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday.

Universal Trading Down 3.0%

Shares of NYSE:UVV traded down $1.85 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $60.44. The company's stock had a trading volume of 383,292 shares, compared to its average volume of 162,196. The firm has a market cap of $1.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.44 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Universal Co. has a 1 year low of $45.19 and a 1 year high of $67.33. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $56.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $54.93.

Universal (NYSE:UVV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of $702.28 million during the quarter. Universal had a return on equity of 8.92% and a net margin of 4.31%.

Universal Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 4th. Investors of record on Monday, July 14th will be issued a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 14th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.43%. This is a boost from Universal's previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. Universal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 86.77%.

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.