Ameriprise Financial Inc. Has $3.43 Million Holdings in Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. lowered its holdings in Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE - Free Report) by 8.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 162,974 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 15,442 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned about 0.58% of Universal Insurance worth $3,432,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in UVE. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Universal Insurance by 128,888.9% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 58,045 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,222,000 after acquiring an additional 58,000 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Universal Insurance in the fourth quarter worth approximately $319,000. Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in shares of Universal Insurance by 62.5% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 61,935 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,304,000 after acquiring an additional 23,830 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Universal Insurance by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 24,415 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $514,000 after acquiring an additional 2,160 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Universal Insurance during the fourth quarter worth approximately $240,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.61% of the company's stock.

Universal Insurance Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of UVE stock traded up $0.19 during trading on Friday, hitting $27.11. 225,744 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 186,818. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $763.01 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.02 and a beta of 0.83. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $24.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.11. Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $16.50 and a twelve month high of $27.25.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The insurance provider reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.32. The business had revenue of $394.87 million during 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%. As a group, analysts forecast that Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. will post 1.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Universal Insurance Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th were issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. Universal Insurance's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Universal Insurance news, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 20,000 shares of Universal Insurance stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 951,667 shares in the company, valued at $25,066,908.78. The trade was a 2.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Jon Springer sold 26,393 shares of Universal Insurance stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.61, for a total transaction of $675,924.73. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 76,393 shares of company stock worth $2,014,525. 16.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Universal Insurance Company 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.