Sanctuary Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE)

Sanctuary Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE) by 56.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,519 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 16,481 shares during the quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC’s holdings in Universal Insurance were worth $286,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in UVE. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of Universal Insurance by 69.5% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 68,969 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,528,000 after acquiring an additional 28,278 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Universal Insurance by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 689,767 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $15,289,000 after purchasing an additional 49,123 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Universal Insurance during the third quarter valued at $241,000. Jane Street Group LLC grew its holdings in Universal Insurance by 2,142.1% during the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 59,774 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,325,000 after purchasing an additional 57,108 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP increased its position in Universal Insurance by 55.6% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,171 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 776 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.61% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com raised Universal Insurance from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 10th.

Universal Insurance Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE UVE opened at $20.62 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $583.26 million, a PE ratio of 8.38 and a beta of 0.92. Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $15.78 and a 1 year high of $23.39. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $21.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $20.37. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The insurance provider reported ($0.73) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.03) by $0.30. The business had revenue of $387.55 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $341.98 million. Universal Insurance had a return on equity of 15.43% and a net margin of 4.82%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.16) EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Universal Insurance Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. Universal Insurance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.02%.

Insider Activity at Universal Insurance

In related news, Director Jon Springer sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.63, for a total transaction of $515,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 383,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,905,993.64. This represents a 6.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 20,000 shares of Universal Insurance stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.21, for a total transaction of $404,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 1,062,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,468,315.02. This represents a 1.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 60,064 shares of company stock valued at $1,258,287. 17.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.