Private Advisor Group LLC Purchases New Shares in Universal Co. (NYSE:UVV)

Private Advisor Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Universal Co. (NYSE:UVV) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 4,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $254,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Universal by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 12,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $598,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. nVerses Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Universal by 22.2% in the 3rd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 1,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Keene & Associates Inc. increased its stake in Universal by 3.2% in the second quarter. Keene & Associates Inc. now owns 7,005 shares of the company’s stock valued at $338,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC raised its stake in Universal by 41.7% during the 2nd quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 850 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Texas Permanent School Fund Corp increased its position in shares of Universal by 1.4% during the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 21,506 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,112,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. 81.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Universal Trading Down 3.0 %

Shares of Universal stock opened at $52.04 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.71 and a beta of 0.77. Universal Co. has a 1 year low of $45.19 and a 1 year high of $67.80. The company’s fifty day moving average is $51.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $50.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 2.60.

Universal (NYSE:UVV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter. Universal had a net margin of 4.31% and a return on equity of 8.92%. The business had revenue of $597.05 million for the quarter.

Universal Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.23%. Universal’s payout ratio is currently 66.67%.

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

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.