Insider Selling: Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE) Chairman Sells 20,000 Shares of Stock

Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE) Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.47, for a total value of $449,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 1,082,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,318,427.14. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Universal Insurance Stock Down 2.7 %

Shares of UVE opened at $21.85 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $20.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.72. Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $12.86 and a 12-month high of $23.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a market cap of $629.28 million, a P/E ratio of 8.57 and a beta of 0.89.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The insurance provider reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $380.21 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $340.09 million. Universal Insurance had a net margin of 5.60% and a return on equity of 21.14%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.87 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Universal Insurance Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 2nd. Universal Insurance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.10%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in Universal Insurance by 283.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 374,487 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $7,040,000 after acquiring an additional 276,700 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Universal Insurance by 44.5% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 469,803 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $8,814,000 after purchasing an additional 144,647 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of Universal Insurance by 11,666.1% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 58,713 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,193,000 after purchasing an additional 58,214 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC boosted 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 purchasing an additional 43,718 shares during the period. Finally, Legato Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Universal Insurance in the second quarter valued at approximately $789,000. 66.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of Universal Insurance from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th.

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.