Voleon Capital Management LP Purchases Shares of 45,730 Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE)

Voleon Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 45,730 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $963,000. Voleon Capital Management LP owned 0.16% of Universal Insurance as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its stake in Universal Insurance by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 13,804 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $291,000 after purchasing an additional 732 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Universal Insurance by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 21,799 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $459,000 after buying an additional 1,775 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Universal Insurance by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 24,415 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $514,000 after buying an additional 2,160 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP increased its stake in shares of Universal Insurance by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 76,132 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,603,000 after acquiring an additional 3,221 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Universal Insurance by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,674,545 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $35,266,000 after acquiring an additional 4,480 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 66.61% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Universal Insurance

In other news, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $21,863,616. The trade was a 1.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 17.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Universal Insurance Stock Up 0.3 %

UVE stock traded up $0.07 on Tuesday, reaching $25.72. 44,798 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 179,019. 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 firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $21.36. Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $16.50 and a one year high of $26.35. The company has a market cap of $725.10 million, a P/E ratio of 10.48 and a beta of 0.76.

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

Universal Insurance Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.49%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. Universal Insurance's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.95%.

About Universal Insurance

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.