State Street Corp Acquires 71,773 Shares of Universal Co. (NYSE:UVV)

State Street Corp raised its holdings in Universal Co. (NYSE:UVV) by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,218,793 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 71,773 shares during the quarter. State Street Corp owned approximately 4.94% of Universal worth $64,730,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Universal by 69.1% in the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 273,280 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,169,000 after purchasing an additional 111,691 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Universal by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 542,683 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,822,000 after acquiring an additional 24,089 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Universal during the third quarter worth approximately $697,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of Universal by 85.6% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 22,020 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,169,000 after acquiring an additional 10,155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Universal by 438.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,277 shares of the company’s stock valued at $599,000 after purchasing an additional 9,181 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.00% of the company’s stock.

Universal Stock Down 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE:UVV opened at $54.99 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $53.72 and its 200 day moving average is $51.78. The stock has a market cap of $1.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.31 and a beta of 0.81. Universal Co. has a 52-week low of $45.19 and a 52-week high of $67.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Universal announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, November 7th that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 7.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Universal Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 13th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.89%. Universal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.67%.

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.