Essex Investment Management Co. LLC Lowers Holdings in Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE)

Essex Investment Management Co. LLC decreased its position in Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE) by 11.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 178,038 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 23,601 shares during the period. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC’s holdings in Universal Insurance were worth $3,749,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Universal Insurance by 7.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 689,767 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $15,289,000 after purchasing an additional 49,123 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its stake in Universal Insurance by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 570,615 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $12,017,000 after buying an additional 285,338 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Universal Insurance by 22.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 347,395 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $7,698,000 after buying an additional 63,582 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its stake in Universal Insurance by 16.7% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 174,232 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,861,000 after buying an additional 24,919 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Universal Insurance by 35.7% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 147,249 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,263,000 after buying an additional 38,767 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.61% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Universal Insurance

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 shares were sold at an average price of $22.08, for a total value of $441,600.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 990,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,863,616. This represents a 1.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Jon Springer sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.63, for a total transaction of $515,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 383,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,905,993.64. The trade was a 6.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 115,000 shares of company stock valued at $2,424,450 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 17.50% of the company’s stock.

Universal Insurance Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:UVE opened at $21.12 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $593.25 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.58 and a beta of 0.84. Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $16.50 and a 52 week high of $23.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $20.19 and a 200 day moving average of $20.78.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The insurance provider reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $384.81 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $349.91 million. Universal Insurance had a net margin of 4.82% and a return on equity of 15.43%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Universal Insurance Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.03%. This is an increase from Universal Insurance’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Universal Insurance’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Universal Insurance from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th.

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.