JPMorgan Chase & Co. Grows Stock Holdings in Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE - Free Report) by 15.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 170,574 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 23,325 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 0.60% of Universal Insurance worth $3,592,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in Universal Insurance during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $103,000. Quantbot Technologies LP grew its holdings in Universal Insurance by 45,981.8% during the 4th quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 5,069 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $107,000 after buying an additional 5,058 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Universal Insurance during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $240,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Universal Insurance in the fourth quarter worth $319,000. Finally, Rockwood Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Universal Insurance by 48.4% in the fourth quarter. Rockwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,373 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $337,000 after buying an additional 5,337 shares in the last quarter. 66.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 20,000 shares of Universal Insurance stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.08, for a total transaction of $441,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 990,200 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,863,616. The trade was a 1.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 17.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Universal Insurance Price Performance

Shares of Universal Insurance stock traded up $0.02 during trading on Friday, reaching $23.41. 144,175 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 176,835. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.51 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The company has a market capitalization of $657.59 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.51 and a beta of 0.76. Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $16.50 and a 52-week high of $25.61. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.06.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The insurance provider reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $394.87 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $354.97 million. Universal Insurance had a net margin of 4.82% and a return on equity of 15.43%. Sell-side analysts expect that Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. will post 1.66 EPS for the current year.

Universal Insurance Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. Universal Insurance's payout ratio is 32.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of Universal Insurance from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th.

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.