Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Buys New Holdings in Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 15,507 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $319,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. owned 0.05% of Universal Insurance as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Universal Insurance by 7.7% during the third 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 last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Universal Insurance by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 570,615 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $12,017,000 after buying an additional 285,338 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Universal Insurance by 22.4% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 347,395 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $7,698,000 after buying an additional 63,582 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Universal Insurance by 16.7% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 174,232 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,861,000 after acquiring an additional 24,919 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Universal Insurance by 35.7% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 147,249 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,263,000 after acquiring an additional 38,767 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 66.61% of the company’s stock.

Universal Insurance Stock Performance

Shares of UVE opened at $20.35 on Friday. Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $16.50 and a 1 year high of $23.39. 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 $20.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $20.60. The firm has a market cap of $575.70 million, a PE ratio of 8.27 and a beta of 0.91.

Universal Insurance Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. This is a boost from Universal Insurance’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Universal Insurance’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Universal Insurance news, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 50,000 shares of Universal Insurance stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.51, for a total transaction of $1,025,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 985,320 shares in the company, valued at $20,208,913.20. The trade was a 4.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jon Springer sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 17.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com lowered Universal Insurance from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday.

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.