Donald Smith & CO. Inc. Sells 166,955 Shares of Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE)

Donald Smith & CO. Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE) by 9.6% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,570,278 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 166,955 shares during the quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. owned 0.06% of Universal Insurance worth $29,458,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Inspire Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Universal Insurance in the 2nd quarter valued at $433,000. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its holdings in Universal Insurance by 90.7% in the second quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 56,502 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,060,000 after acquiring an additional 26,873 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Universal Insurance by 44.5% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 469,803 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $8,814,000 after purchasing an additional 144,647 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC raised its holdings in Universal Insurance by 303.2% during the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 31,704 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $595,000 after buying an additional 23,841 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Universal Insurance by 11.0% in the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 24,963 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $468,000 after buying an additional 2,479 shares in the last quarter. 66.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Jon Springer sold 35,173 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.53, for a total value of $722,101.69. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 473,899 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,729,146.47. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Universal Insurance news, Director Jon Springer sold 35,173 shares of Universal Insurance stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.53, for a total value of $722,101.69. Following the sale, the director now owns 473,899 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,729,146.47. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total transaction of $400,000.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 1,122,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,445,240. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 17.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of Universal Insurance from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th.

Universal Insurance Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of Universal Insurance stock opened at $21.01 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $598.36 million, a P/E ratio of 8.24 and a beta of 0.89. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $19.63. Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $12.81 and a 12-month high of $22.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The insurance provider reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $380.21 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $340.09 million. Universal Insurance had a net margin of 5.60% and a return on equity of 21.14%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.87 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Universal Insurance Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 2nd were paid a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.05%. Universal Insurance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.10%.

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.