Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Sells 27,743 Shares of Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE)

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership decreased its stake in shares of Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE - Free Report) by 6.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 413,434 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 27,743 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership owned approximately 1.46% of Universal Insurance worth $8,707,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in UVE. Quarry LP boosted its position in Universal Insurance by 55.6% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,171 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 776 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in Universal Insurance during the fourth quarter worth $103,000. Quantbot Technologies LP grew its position in Universal Insurance by 45,981.8% in the fourth quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 5,069 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $107,000 after purchasing an additional 5,058 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new stake in Universal Insurance in the 3rd quarter valued at $206,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Universal Insurance in the 4th quarter valued at $240,000. 66.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com cut Universal Insurance from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th.

Universal Insurance Stock Performance

Shares of UVE stock traded down $0.07 on Friday, reaching $22.03. The stock had a trading volume of 116,365 shares, compared to its average volume of 177,879. Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $16.50 and a 12 month high of $24.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $618.87 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.95 and a beta of 0.76. The firm's 50-day moving average is $21.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The insurance provider reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.16. Universal Insurance had a return on equity of 15.43% and a net margin of 4.82%. The firm had revenue of $384.81 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $349.91 million. On average, research analysts expect 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 was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.91%. This is a boost from Universal Insurance's previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. Universal Insurance's payout ratio is 32.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Universal Insurance

In related news, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 20,000 shares of Universal Insurance stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.08, for a total transaction of $441,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 990,200 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,863,616. The trade was a 1.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 17.50% of the company's stock.

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.