JPMorgan Chase & Co. Buys 38,767 Shares of Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE) by 35.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 147,249 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 38,767 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned 0.52% of Universal Insurance worth $3,263,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Insider Activity at Universal Insurance

In other Universal Insurance news, Director Jon Springer sold 25,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 383,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,905,993.64. This trade represents a 6.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.21, for a total transaction of $404,200.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,062,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,468,315.02. This represents a 1.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 110,064 shares of company stock worth $2,283,787. 17.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Universal Insurance Price Performance

NYSE UVE opened at $19.42 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $549.26 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.89 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.51 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $21.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $20.53. Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $15.78 and a 1 year high of $23.39.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The insurance provider reported ($0.73) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.03) by $0.30. Universal Insurance had a return on equity of 15.43% and a net margin of 4.82%. The firm had revenue of $387.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $341.98 million. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.16) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Universal Insurance Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. Universal Insurance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.02%.

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.