Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE) Shares Sold by Bank of Montreal Can

Bank of Montreal Can cut its position in shares of Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE - Free Report) by 76.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 88,906 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 285,581 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can owned 0.31% of Universal Insurance worth $1,954,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UVE. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Universal Insurance by 2.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,544,506 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $31,384,000 after buying an additional 41,425 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Universal Insurance by 44.5% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 469,803 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $8,814,000 after buying an additional 144,647 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in 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 last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Universal Insurance by 4.8% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 300,379 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $5,635,000 after buying an additional 13,856 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC bought a new stake in Universal Insurance in the third quarter valued at $6,322,000. 66.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 20,000 shares of Universal Insurance stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.47, for a total transaction of $449,400.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 1,082,262 shares of the company's stock, valued at $24,318,427.14. The trade was a 1.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 55,064 shares of company stock valued at $1,191,937. Company insiders own 17.50% of the company's stock.

Universal Insurance Stock Performance

Shares of UVE traded down $0.78 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $21.87. 95,675 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 185,671. The firm has a market capitalization of $618.70 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.21 and a beta of 0.92. 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 twelve month low of $15.63 and a twelve month high of $23.39. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $20.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $20.18.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The insurance provider reported ($0.73) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.03) by $0.30. The company had revenue of $387.55 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $341.98 million. Universal Insurance had a return on equity of 15.43% and a net margin of 4.82%. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.16) earnings per share. Analysts predict that Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Universal Insurance Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. Universal Insurance's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.02%.

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.