Prudential Financial Inc. Raises Position in Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE)

Prudential Financial Inc. raised its position in Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE - Free Report) by 263.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 42,221 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 30,600 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. owned 0.15% of Universal Insurance worth $889,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Universal Insurance Trading Down 0.3 %

UVE stock traded down $0.07 during trading on Friday, hitting $22.03. The company had a trading volume of 116,365 shares, compared to its average volume of 177,879. The stock has a market cap of $618.87 million, a PE ratio of 8.95 and a beta of 0.76. The business has a 50-day moving average of $21.50 and a 200-day moving average of $20.94. 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 Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $16.50 and a one year high of $24.14.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The insurance provider reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $384.81 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $349.91 million. Universal Insurance had a net margin of 4.82% and a return on equity of 15.43%. 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 firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.91%. This is a boost from Universal Insurance's previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. Universal Insurance's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Universal Insurance news, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 20,000 shares of Universal Insurance stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.08, for a total value of $441,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 990,200 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,863,616. The trade was a 1.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 17.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.