Universal (NYSE:UVV) Stock Price Down 4% - Should You Sell?

Shares of Universal Corporation (NYSE:UVV - Get Free Report) fell 4% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $56.46 and last traded at $55.28. 29,622 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 171,103 shares. The stock had previously closed at $57.59.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Universal Trading Down 0.7%

The business's 50-day moving average price is $58.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $55.54. The company has a market cap of $1.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.68 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 2.87.

Universal (NYSE:UVV - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of $702.28 million during the quarter. Universal had a net margin of 3.22% and a return on equity of 7.89%.

Universal Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 4th. Investors of record on Monday, July 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This is an increase from Universal's previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 14th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.91%. Universal's payout ratio is presently 86.77%.

Institutional Trading of Universal

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake 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 in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Universal by 25.3% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 995,262 shares of the company's stock worth $54,580,000 after purchasing an additional 201,185 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake 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 in the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its position in shares of Universal by 19.4% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 340,281 shares of the company's stock valued at $18,918,000 after buying an additional 55,170 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Universal by 15.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 285,785 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,672,000 after buying an additional 38,914 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.00% of the company's stock.

About Universal

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.