Insider Selling: Universal Corporation (NYSE:UVV) Director Sells 2,800 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Lennart R. Freeman, a director at Universal Corporation, sold 2,800 shares at an average price of $52.89, reducing his stake in the company by 12.46%.
• Universal Corporation's stock increased by 1.3% on the day following the insider sale, reaching $54.15 with a trading volume of 234,865 shares.
• The company plans to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.82 per share on November 3rd, with an annual yield of 6.1%.

Universal Corporation (NYSE:UVV - Get Free Report) 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 $1,040,293.41. This represents a 12.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Universal Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of UVV stock traded up $0.70 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $54.15. 234,865 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 218,723. Universal Corporation has a 1-year low of $49.40 and a 1-year high of $67.33. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $57.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $55.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 2.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.35 billion, a PE ratio of 13.18 and a beta of 0.74.

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

Universal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.1%. Universal's payout ratio is presently 79.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC grew its position in Universal by 1.6% during the second quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 16,786 shares of the company's stock valued at $978,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its position in Universal by 2.0% in the second quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 15,015 shares of the company's stock worth $874,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Universal by 38.6% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,149 shares of the company's stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in Universal by 12.7% in the second quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,963 shares of the company's stock worth $173,000 after acquiring an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sigma Planning Corp grew its position in Universal by 7.2% in the second quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 6,059 shares of the company's stock worth $353,000 after acquiring an additional 405 shares in the last quarter. 81.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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