Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Grows Stake in Universal Co. (NYSE:UVV)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Universal Co. (NYSE:UVV) by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 542,683 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 24,089 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 2.20% of Universal worth $28,822,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its position in shares of Universal by 1.6% during the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 12,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $598,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Universal by 22.2% during the third quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 1,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Keene & Associates Inc. increased its position in shares of Universal by 3.2% during the second quarter. Keene & Associates Inc. now owns 7,005 shares of the company’s stock worth $338,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Universal by 41.7% during the second quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 850 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SteelPeak Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Universal by 6.6% during the third quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 4,648 shares of the company’s stock worth $247,000 after acquiring an additional 286 shares during the last quarter. 81.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Universal Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE UVV opened at $56.38 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $1.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.60 and a beta of 0.81. Universal Co. has a 1 year low of $45.19 and a 1 year high of $67.80. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $52.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $51.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 2.60.

Universal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, January 13th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 13th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.75%. Universal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.67%.

Universal declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, November 7th that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 7.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

About Universal

Universal Corporation processes and supplies leaf tobacco and plant-based ingredients worldwide. The company operates through two segments, Tobacco Operations; and Ingredients Operations. It is involved in the procuring, financing, processing, packing, storing, and shipping leaf tobacco for sale to manufacturers of consumer tobacco products.