Donald Smith & CO. Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE)

Donald Smith & CO. Inc. raised its stake in Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE) by 11.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,720,519 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 174,843 shares during the period. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. owned 6.08% of Universal Insurance worth $36,234,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Universal Insurance by 22.4% in the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new position in shares of Universal Insurance during the third quarter worth $206,000. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Universal Insurance by 135.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 32,114 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $712,000 after purchasing an additional 18,501 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in shares of Universal Insurance by 80.5% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 132,939 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,946,000 after purchasing an additional 59,290 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Universal Insurance in the 3rd quarter worth $338,000. 66.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Universal Insurance Stock Down 0.5 %

UVE stock opened at $23.95 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $16.50 and a 52 week high of $24.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $672.90 million, a PE ratio of 9.74 and a beta of 0.84. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $21.03 and a 200 day moving average of $20.92.

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

Universal Insurance Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.67%. This is a boost from Universal Insurance’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. Universal Insurance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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. Corporate insiders own 17.50% of the company’s stock.

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.