Insider Selling: Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) Chairman Sells 20,000 Shares

Key Points

• Universal Insurance Chairman Sean Downes sold 20,000 shares at an average price of $44.27, generating $885,400. He retains 1.10 million shares worth approximately $48.9 million.
• Universal Insurance reported quarterly EPS of $1.84, exceeding estimates of $1.57, while revenue came in at $419.38 million. The company maintains a $0.16 quarterly dividend, equal to a 1.5% annual yield.
• UVE shares recently traded near $44, close to their 52-week high of $45.15. Analysts’ consensus rating is Hold, with an average price target of $45, while institutional investors own 66.61% of the stock.

Universal Insurance Holdings Inc (NYSE:UVE - Get Free Report) Chairman Sean Downes sold 20,000 shares of Universal Insurance stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.27, for a total transaction of $885,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 1,104,645 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,902,634.15. This represents a 1.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Universal Insurance Stock Performance

Shares of Universal Insurance stock traded down $1.02 on Friday, reaching $44.06. 187,099 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 205,681. Universal Insurance Holdings Inc has a 52 week low of $23.25 and a 52 week high of $45.15. The company has a 50 day moving average of $40.14 and a 200 day moving average of $36.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.23 billion, a PE ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.51.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.27. Universal Insurance had a net margin of 13.49% and a return on equity of 37.67%. The company had revenue of $419.38 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $614.62 million. Equities analysts forecast that Universal Insurance Holdings Inc will post 4.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Universal Insurance Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be paid a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 31st. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Universal Insurance's payout ratio is presently 8.44%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Universal Insurance

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Universal Insurance during the 2nd quarter valued at $111,007,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Universal Insurance by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,007,725 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $67,861,000 after purchasing an additional 54,004 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Universal Insurance by 19.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 815,484 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $27,566,000 after buying an additional 134,805 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Universal Insurance by 9.4% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 805,199 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $19,083,000 after buying an additional 69,289 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of Universal Insurance by 212.3% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 596,370 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $15,685,000 after buying an additional 405,403 shares during the period. 66.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UVE has been the subject of several research reports. Zacks Research downgraded Universal Insurance from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Universal Insurance in a report on Friday, July 17th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Universal Insurance from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Universal Insurance from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $45.00.

About Universal Insurance

Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc NYSE: UVE is a property and casualty insurance holding company headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida. The company underwrites homeowners and other residential property insurance products to protect against natural catastrophes such as hurricanes, windstorms and fires. It distributes policies primarily through a network of independent agents and brokers, offering coverage for primary residences, secondary homes, condominiums, vacant dwellings and rental properties across its service territory.

In addition to personal lines, Universal provides commercial property and casualty insurance tailored to small businesses and institutional clients.

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