44,059 Shares in Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE) Acquired by Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in shares of Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 44,059 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $928,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned about 0.16% of Universal Insurance at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in shares of Universal Insurance during the 4th quarter worth $103,000. Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its stake in shares of Universal Insurance by 45,981.8% during the 4th quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 5,069 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $107,000 after acquiring an additional 5,058 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Universal Insurance during the 4th quarter worth $118,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Universal Insurance during the 4th quarter worth $121,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Universal Insurance by 56.7% during the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 5,758 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $121,000 after acquiring an additional 2,083 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.61% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Universal Insurance

In other Universal Insurance news, Director Jon Springer sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.06, for a total value of $811,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 301,835 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,167,655.10. The trade was a 9.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.34, for a total transaction of $526,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 951,667 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $25,066,908.78. This trade represents a 2.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 76,393 shares of company stock worth $2,014,525 in the last three months. Insiders own 16.60% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Universal Insurance from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th.

Universal Insurance Price Performance

Shares of UVE traded up $0.07 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $27.50. 169,854 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 188,654. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $16.50 and a 52-week high of $28.49. The company's 50-day moving average price is $24.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $22.29. The company has a market cap of $774.02 million, a P/E ratio of 11.18 and a beta of 0.87.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The insurance provider reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.32. The company had revenue of $394.87 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $354.97 million. Universal Insurance had a net margin of 4.82% and a return on equity of 15.43%. On average, analysts anticipate that Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Universal Insurance Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th were issued a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.33%. Universal Insurance's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.95%.

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.