Jon Springer Sells 25,000 Shares of Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE) Stock

Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE) Director Jon Springer sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.63, for a total value of $515,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 383,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,905,993.64. This represents a 6.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Universal Insurance Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:UVE opened at $20.64 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $21.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.30. The company has a market capitalization of $583.82 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.39 and a beta of 0.92. Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $15.78 and a fifty-two week 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.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The insurance provider reported ($0.73) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.16) EPS. As a group, sell-side 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. Universal Insurance’s payout ratio is presently 26.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Institutional Trading of Universal Insurance

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CWA Asset Management Group LLC bought a new stake in Universal Insurance during the third quarter worth about $6,322,000. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in shares of Universal Insurance by 283.0% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 374,487 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $7,040,000 after purchasing an additional 276,700 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Universal Insurance by 44.5% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 469,803 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $8,814,000 after acquiring an additional 144,647 shares during the last quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC grew its stake in shares of Universal Insurance by 64.6% in the third quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 201,639 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $4,468,000 after purchasing an additional 79,138 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Universal Insurance by 22.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 347,395 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $7,698,000 after buying an additional 63,582 shares during the period. 66.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Universal Insurance Company 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.