Principal Financial Group Inc. Increases Position in Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE) by 9.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 24,415 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,160 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.09% of Universal Insurance worth $514,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of UVE. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 holdings 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 acquiring an additional 285,338 shares during the period. 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 purchasing an additional 28,278 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Universal Insurance during the third quarter valued at about $636,000. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Universal Insurance by 2,142.1% during the 3rd 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 during the period. 66.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Universal Insurance Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of Universal Insurance stock opened at $21.58 on Friday. 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 moving average of $20.16 and a 200-day moving average of $20.77. The company has a market capitalization of $610.41 million, a PE ratio of 8.77 and a beta of 0.91.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The insurance provider reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $384.81 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $349.91 million. Universal Insurance had a return on equity of 15.43% and a net margin of 4.82%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. will post 1.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Universal Insurance Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. This is a positive change from Universal Insurance’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Universal Insurance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.16%.

Insider Transactions at Universal Insurance

In related news, Director Jon Springer sold 25,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the director now directly owns 383,228 shares in the company, valued at $7,905,993.64. This trade represents a 6.12 % 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, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 20,000 shares of Universal Insurance stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.08, for a total transaction of $441,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 990,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,863,616. This represents a 1.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 115,000 shares of company stock valued at $2,424,450. Insiders own 17.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Universal Insurance from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday.

About Universal Insurance

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.