JPMorgan Chase & Co. Purchases 60,580 Shares of Universal Co. (NYSE:UVV)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Universal Co. (NYSE:UVV - Free Report) by 80.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 135,563 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 60,580 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 0.55% of Universal worth $7,434,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Heritage Wealth Advisors boosted its position in Universal by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors now owns 26,605 shares of the company's stock worth $1,459,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Universal by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 6,186 shares of the company's stock worth $339,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Universal by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 14,322 shares of the company's stock worth $785,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares during the period. Fulcrum Equity Management grew its stake in shares of Universal by 4.5% in the third quarter. Fulcrum Equity Management now owns 8,723 shares of the company's stock worth $463,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in Universal by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 9,166 shares of the company's stock valued at $503,000 after purchasing an additional 556 shares during the period. 81.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Universal Trading Up 4.6 %

Shares of UVV stock traded up $2.39 on Tuesday, hitting $54.17. The company had a trading volume of 422,311 shares, compared to its average volume of 161,218. Universal Co. has a twelve month low of $45.19 and a twelve month high of $59.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 2.60. The firm has a market cap of $1.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.15 and a beta of 0.74. The stock's 50-day moving average is $53.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $53.44.

Universal (NYSE:UVV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 21st. The company reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Universal had a net margin of 4.31% and a return on equity of 8.92%. The firm had revenue of $937.19 million during the quarter.

Universal Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 14th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.98%. Universal's payout ratio is currently 66.67%.

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.