Insider Selling: Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE) Chairman Sells 50,000 Shares of Stock

Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE - Get Free Report) Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 50,000 shares of Universal Insurance stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.51, for a total value of $1,025,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 985,320 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,208,913.20. This represents a 4.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Universal Insurance Price Performance

NYSE UVE traded up $0.50 on Tuesday, hitting $21.06. 139,259 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 183,819. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $21.43 and a 200-day moving average of $20.42. The stock has a market cap of $595.70 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.56 and a beta of 0.92. Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $15.78 and a 52 week high of $23.39. 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 quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The insurance provider reported ($0.73) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.03) by $0.30. Universal Insurance had a return on equity of 15.43% and a net margin of 4.82%. The business had revenue of $387.55 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $341.98 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.16) EPS. Analysts expect that Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Universal Insurance Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. Universal Insurance's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.02%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Universal Insurance

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quarry LP increased its holdings in Universal Insurance by 424.4% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,395 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,129 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Universal Insurance by 240.1% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,881 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 1,328 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of Universal Insurance by 40.1% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,524 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 723 shares during the period. Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new position in Universal Insurance in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $202,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new stake in Universal Insurance during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $206,000. 66.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of Universal Insurance from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, November 10th.

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.