Covestor Ltd Increases Position in Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE)

Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE) by 240.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,881 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,328 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd’s holdings in Universal Insurance were worth $42,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Boston Partners purchased a new stake in Universal Insurance during the 1st quarter worth approximately $758,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Universal Insurance by 2.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,544,506 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $31,384,000 after purchasing an additional 41,425 shares in the last quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its stake in Universal Insurance by 90.7% during the second quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 56,502 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,060,000 after purchasing an additional 26,873 shares in the last quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Universal Insurance by 135.1% in the second quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 76,069 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,427,000 after acquiring an additional 43,718 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C acquired a new stake in shares of Universal Insurance in the second quarter valued at $783,000. 66.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com raised Universal Insurance from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, November 10th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Universal Insurance

In other news, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.47, for a total transaction of $449,400.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,082,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,318,427.14. This trade represents a 1.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last three months, insiders sold 55,064 shares of company stock worth $1,191,937. Insiders own 17.50% of the company’s stock.

Universal Insurance Price Performance

Shares of UVE opened at $22.48 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $20.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $635.96 million, a PE ratio of 9.14 and a beta of 0.90. 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 Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $15.63 and a twelve month high of $23.27.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The insurance provider reported ($0.73) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.03) by $0.30. Universal Insurance had a return on equity of 15.43% and a net margin of 4.82%. The firm had revenue of $387.55 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $341.98 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.16) EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Universal Insurance Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.31%. Universal Insurance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.02%.

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.