Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Lowers Holdings in Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE) by 77.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,711 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 60,576 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Universal Insurance worth $373,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UVE. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake 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. CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Universal Insurance by 100.0% in the fourth 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 position in shares of Universal Insurance by 22.4% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 347,395 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $7,698,000 after acquiring an additional 63,582 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its stake in Universal Insurance by 16.7% during 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 stake in Universal Insurance by 35.7% during 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.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 50,000 shares of Universal Insurance stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chairman now directly owns 985,320 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,208,913.20. The trade was a 4.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Jon Springer sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 383,228 shares in the company, valued at $7,905,993.64. The trade was a 6.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 17.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of Universal Insurance from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday.

Universal Insurance Stock Performance

NYSE UVE opened at $20.55 on Wednesday. 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 Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $16.50 and a 1-year high of $23.39. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $20.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $20.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $581.14 million, a PE ratio of 8.35 and a beta of 0.91.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The insurance provider reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $384.81 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $349.91 million. Universal Insurance had a net margin of 4.82% and a return on equity of 15.43%. On average, research analysts predict that Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. will post 1.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Universal Insurance Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is an increase 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 3.12%. Universal Insurance’s payout ratio 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.