Ameriprise Financial Inc. Sells 15,442 Shares of Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. reduced its holdings in Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE - Free Report) by 8.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 162,974 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 15,442 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.58% of Universal Insurance worth $3,432,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in shares of Universal Insurance during the fourth quarter worth approximately $103,000. Quantbot Technologies LP grew its stake in shares of Universal Insurance by 45,981.8% in the fourth quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 5,069 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $107,000 after purchasing an additional 5,058 shares in the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Universal Insurance in the fourth quarter worth $121,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Universal Insurance during the fourth quarter valued at $240,000. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its stake in shares of Universal Insurance by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 13,804 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $291,000 after purchasing an additional 732 shares in the last quarter. 66.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Universal Insurance news, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.34, for a total value of $526,800.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 951,667 shares in the company, valued at $25,066,908.78. This trade represents a 2.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Jon Springer sold 26,393 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.61, for a total transaction of $675,924.73. Following the sale, the director now owns 331,835 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,498,294.35. This trade represents a 7.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 86,393 shares of company stock valued at $2,085,925 over the last three months. 16.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Universal Insurance Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UVE traded up $0.37 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $26.88. The company's stock had a trading volume of 111,315 shares, compared to its average volume of 186,949. Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $16.50 and a one year high of $26.92. The company has a market cap of $756.54 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.93 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $24.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $22.08. 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 (NYSE:UVE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The insurance provider reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.32. The business had revenue of $394.87 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $354.97 million. Universal Insurance had a net margin of 4.82% and a return on equity of 15.43%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. will post 1.66 EPS for the current year.

Universal Insurance Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th were issued a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. Universal Insurance's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.95%.

Universal Insurance Profile

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.