Renaissance Technologies LLC Increases Holdings in Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE)

Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE) by 10.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 357,100 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 33,900 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned approximately 1.26% of Universal Insurance worth $7,521,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in Universal Insurance in the fourth quarter worth $103,000. Quantbot Technologies LP raised its stake in shares of Universal Insurance by 45,981.8% in the fourth quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 5,069 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $107,000 after acquiring an additional 5,058 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Universal Insurance in the 4th quarter worth about $240,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its stake in shares of Universal Insurance by 5.6% during the 4th 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. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Universal Insurance during the 4th quarter valued at about $319,000. Institutional investors own 66.61% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com lowered Universal Insurance from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th.

Universal Insurance Stock Performance

Shares of Universal Insurance stock opened at $23.21 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $21.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $20.98. The firm has a market cap of $651.97 million, a P/E ratio of 9.43 and a beta of 0.76. Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $16.50 and a 12 month high of $24.14.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The insurance provider reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.16. Universal Insurance had a return on equity of 15.43% and a net margin of 4.82%. The firm had revenue of $384.81 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $349.91 million. On average, equities research analysts expect that Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Universal Insurance Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.76%. Universal Insurance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chairman now directly owns 990,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,863,616. This represents a 1.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 17.50% of the company’s stock.

Universal Insurance 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.