Universal Corporation $UVV Shares Bought by Boston Partners

Key Points

• Boston Partners increased its stake in Universal Corporation by 19.4% in Q1, now owning approximately 1.38% of the company with a value of around $18.9 million.
• Universal Corporation announced a quarterly dividend of $0.82 per share, representing a 6.1% yield, with the ex-dividend date set for October 10th.
• Universal's stock has seen institutional ownership rise to 81.00%, demonstrating strong support from large investors and hedge funds.

Boston Partners raised its holdings in Universal Corporation (NYSE:UVV - Free Report) by 19.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 340,281 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 55,170 shares during the quarter. Boston Partners owned about 1.38% of Universal worth $18,918,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its stake in Universal by 27.3% in the first quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 78,299 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,389,000 after buying an additional 16,802 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Universal in the first quarter valued at about $3,241,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Universal by 1.3% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 582,530 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,651,000 after buying an additional 7,402 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Universal by 0.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,929,721 shares of the company's stock valued at $164,211,000 after buying an additional 16,170 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cary Street Partners Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Universal in the first quarter valued at about $624,000. 81.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Universal Stock Performance

Shares of UVV stock traded up $0.5130 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $54.5830. The stock had a trading volume of 205,453 shares, compared to its average volume of 218,717. The business's fifty day moving average is $56.50 and its 200-day moving average is $55.88. The company has a current ratio of 2.49, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm has a market cap of $1.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.28 and a beta of 0.74. Universal Corporation has a 1-year low of $49.40 and a 1-year high of $67.33.

Universal (NYSE:UVV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of $593.76 million for the quarter. Universal had a return on equity of 8.46% and a net margin of 3.51%.

Universal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, October 13th will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. Universal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 79.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Activity at Universal

In related news, Director Lennart R. Freeman sold 2,800 shares of Universal stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.89, for a total transaction of $148,092.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 19,669 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,040,293.41. This trade represents a 12.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert C. Sledd sold 4,617 shares of Universal stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.25, for a total value of $245,855.25. Following the transaction, the director owned 15,698 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $835,918.50. This represents a 22.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Universal 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.