Universal Corporation (NYSE:UVV) Director Robert C. Sledd Sells 4,617 Shares

Key Points

• Universal Corporation's Director Robert C. Sledd sold 4,617 shares on August 15th at an average price of $53.25, leading to a 22.73% decrease in his holdings.
• The company reported $0.38 earnings per share and $593.76 million in revenue for the latest quarter, with a net margin of 3.51%.
• Universal has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.82 per share, translating to a 6.1% yield, with an ex-dividend date set for October 10th.

Universal Corporation (NYSE:UVV - Get Free Report) Director Robert C. Sledd sold 4,617 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.25, for a total transaction of $245,855.25. Following the transaction, the director owned 15,698 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $835,918.50. This represents a 22.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Universal Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UVV traded up $0.51 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $53.96. 160,016 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 313,182. The company has a market cap of $1.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.13 and a beta of 0.74. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $56.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $55.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 2.49. Universal Corporation has a twelve month low of $49.40 and a twelve month high of $67.33.

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

Universal Announces Dividend

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 $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. Universal's payout ratio is 79.81%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Universal by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,929,721 shares of the company's stock worth $164,211,000 after purchasing an additional 16,170 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in Universal by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,378,295 shares of the company's stock worth $80,272,000 after purchasing an additional 21,763 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Universal by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 582,530 shares of the company's stock worth $32,651,000 after purchasing an additional 7,402 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its position in Universal by 180.5% in the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 438,134 shares of the company's stock worth $25,517,000 after purchasing an additional 281,920 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Universal by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 380,345 shares of the company's stock worth $22,151,000 after purchasing an additional 3,958 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.00% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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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