Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Takes $1.21 Million Position in Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 57,570 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,212,000. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned 0.20% of Universal Insurance as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in shares of Universal Insurance by 55.6% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,171 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 776 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in Universal Insurance in the 4th quarter valued at $103,000. Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its stake in Universal Insurance by 45,981.8% during the 4th 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 acquired a new stake in Universal Insurance during the 3rd quarter worth $206,000. Finally, PDT Partners LLC acquired a new position in Universal Insurance in the third quarter valued at $225,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.61% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 20,000 shares of Universal Insurance stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $21,863,616. The trade was a 1.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 17.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Universal Insurance Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of UVE stock opened at $23.95 on Thursday. Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $16.50 and a twelve month high of $24.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The business’s 50 day moving average is $21.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.92. The company has a market capitalization of $672.90 million, a P/E ratio of 9.74 and a beta of 0.84.

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

Universal Insurance Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Universal Insurance’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. Universal Insurance’s payout ratio is currently 32.16%.

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.