Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE) Shares Acquired by Graham Capital Management L.P.

Graham Capital Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE - Free Report) by 69.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 24,003 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 9,863 shares during the quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. owned approximately 0.08% of Universal Insurance worth $506,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of UVE. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its stake in shares of Universal Insurance by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 13,804 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $291,000 after purchasing an additional 732 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Universal Insurance by 12.0% during the 4th quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 12,189 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $257,000 after buying an additional 1,306 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Universal Insurance by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 21,799 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $459,000 after buying an additional 1,775 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Universal Insurance by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 24,415 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $514,000 after acquiring an additional 2,160 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP increased its holdings in shares of Universal Insurance by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 76,132 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,603,000 after acquiring an additional 3,221 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.61% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Universal Insurance news, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.08, for a total value of $441,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 990,200 shares in the company, valued at $21,863,616. This represents a 1.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Jon Springer sold 26,393 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.61, for a total value of $675,924.73. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 331,835 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,498,294.35. This trade represents a 7.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 86,393 shares of company stock worth $2,085,925. Insiders own 16.60% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Universal Insurance from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th.

Universal Insurance Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE UVE traded down $0.16 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $26.41. 12,885 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 185,666. The stock has a market cap of $743.17 million, a P/E ratio of 10.70 and a beta of 0.83. Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $16.50 and a 12-month high of $27.45. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $23.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

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

Universal Insurance Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th were paid a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. Universal Insurance's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.95%.

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.