Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Sells 125,700 Shares of Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE)

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund trimmed its stake in shares of Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE) by 81.9% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 27,800 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 125,700 shares during the quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s holdings in Universal Insurance were worth $565,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. boosted its position in Universal Insurance by 2.1% during the first quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 1,737,233 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $35,301,000 after purchasing an additional 35,045 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Universal Insurance by 2.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,544,506 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $31,384,000 after purchasing an additional 41,425 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd bought a new position in Universal Insurance during the fourth quarter worth $6,387,000. LSV Asset Management lifted its holdings in shares of Universal Insurance by 6.8% during the first quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 313,902 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,378,000 after buying an additional 19,900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Universal Insurance by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 226,344 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,617,000 after buying an additional 5,374 shares in the last quarter. 66.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Universal Insurance

In related news, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.31, for a total value of $366,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,142,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,914,817.22. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Michael Pietrangelo sold 12,351 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.43, for a total value of $252,330.93. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 80,074 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,635,911.82. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 20,000 shares of Universal Insurance stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.31, for a total transaction of $366,200.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,142,262 shares in the company, valued at $20,914,817.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 52,351 shares of company stock valued at $1,012,931 over the last quarter. 17.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Universal Insurance Stock Up 2.9 %

UVE opened at $19.99 on Friday. Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $11.15 and a fifty-two week high of $22.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.44. The company has a market capitalization of $575.71 million, a P/E ratio of 7.84 and a beta of 0.88. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $19.02 and a 200-day moving average of $18.81.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The insurance provider reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $367.96 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $336.09 million. Universal Insurance had a return on equity of 19.67% and a net margin of 5.29%. On average, equities analysts expect that Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. will post 2.3 EPS for the current year.

Universal Insurance Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, August 2nd will be paid a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 2nd. Universal Insurance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.10%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on UVE shares. StockNews.com raised Universal Insurance from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 4th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $25.00 target price on shares of Universal Insurance in a report on Monday, April 1st.

Universal Insurance Company 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.