EP Wealth Advisors LLC Increases Stake in Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE) by 12.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,189 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,306 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Universal Insurance were worth $257,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in Universal Insurance in the 4th quarter worth about $103,000. Quantbot Technologies LP increased its stake in Universal Insurance by 45,981.8% in the 4th quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 5,069 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $107,000 after buying an additional 5,058 shares during the period. Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Universal Insurance in the 4th quarter worth about $121,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Universal Insurance in the 4th quarter worth about $240,000. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its stake in Universal Insurance by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 13,804 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $291,000 after buying an additional 732 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.61% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Universal Insurance

In other Universal Insurance news, Director Jon Springer sold 26,393 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.61, for a total transaction of $675,924.73. Following the transaction, the director now owns 331,835 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,498,294.35. This trade represents a 7.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.08, for a total transaction of $441,600.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 990,200 shares in the company, valued at $21,863,616. This trade represents a 1.98% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 66,393 shares of company stock valued at $1,559,125. Company insiders own 16.60% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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 Trading Up 0.3%

UVE stock opened at $25.85 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $727.55 million, a PE ratio of 10.51 and a beta of 0.83. Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $16.50 and a 12 month high of $26.51. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $23.04 and its 200 day moving average is $21.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.51 and a quick ratio of 0.51.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The insurance provider reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.32. The business had revenue of $394.87 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $354.97 million. Universal Insurance had a net margin of 4.82% and a return on equity of 15.43%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. will post 1.66 EPS for the current year.

Universal Insurance Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. Universal Insurance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.95%.

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.