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

Donald Smith & CO. Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE) by 9.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,570,278 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 166,955 shares during the quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. owned 5.51% of Universal Insurance worth $29,458,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of UVE. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in Universal Insurance by 17.4% in the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 12,374 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $232,000 after buying an additional 1,833 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Universal Insurance by 11.0% in the 2nd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 24,963 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $468,000 after acquiring an additional 2,479 shares in the last quarter. Bailard Inc. increased its position in shares of Universal Insurance by 33.3% in the second quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 16,800 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $315,000 after acquiring an additional 4,200 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in Universal Insurance by 31.7% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 19,875 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $404,000 after purchasing an additional 4,781 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Occidental Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Universal Insurance in the second quarter valued at approximately $196,000. 66.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

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

Universal Insurance Stock Performance

Shares of UVE opened at $21.01 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $19.94 and a 200-day moving average of $19.63. The company has a market cap of $598.36 million, a PE ratio of 8.24 and a beta of 0.89. Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $12.81 and a one year high of $22.38.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The insurance provider reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.03. Universal Insurance had a return on equity of 21.14% and a net margin of 5.60%. The firm had revenue of $380.21 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $340.09 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.87 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Universal Insurance Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com cut Universal Insurance from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th.

About Universal Insurance

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.