Donald Smith & CO. Inc. Has $36.23 Million Holdings in Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE)

Donald Smith & CO. Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE - Free Report) by 11.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,720,519 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 174,843 shares during the period. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. owned about 6.08% of Universal Insurance worth $36,234,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Trexquant Investment LP lifted its position in shares of Universal Insurance by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 76,132 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,603,000 after buying an additional 3,221 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Universal Insurance by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 21,799 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $459,000 after purchasing an additional 1,775 shares in the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Universal Insurance by 36.3% in the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 41,511 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $874,000 after purchasing an additional 11,060 shares in the last quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Universal Insurance in the 4th quarter worth about $1,212,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Universal Insurance by 15.8% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 170,574 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $3,592,000 after purchasing an additional 23,325 shares during the last quarter. 66.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Activity

In other Universal Insurance news, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 20,000 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the chairman now 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 17.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Universal Insurance Price Performance

NYSE UVE traded up $0.72 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $21.97. 43,759 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 160,916. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $21.21 and a 200-day moving average of $20.92. Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $16.50 and a one year high of $24.14. The stock has a market cap of $617.18 million, a PE ratio of 8.93 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The insurance provider reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $384.81 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $349.91 million. Universal Insurance had a return on equity of 15.43% and a net margin of 4.82%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Universal Insurance Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.91%. This is a positive change from Universal Insurance's previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. Universal Insurance's dividend payout ratio is presently 32.16%.

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.