Essex Investment Management Co. LLC Sells 23,601 Shares of Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE)

Essex Investment Management Co. LLC cut its holdings in shares of Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE) by 11.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 178,038 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 23,601 shares during the quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC owned approximately 0.63% of Universal Insurance worth $3,749,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Universal Insurance during the fourth quarter valued at about $240,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Universal Insurance by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 24,415 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $514,000 after purchasing an additional 2,160 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in shares of Universal Insurance by 62.5% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 61,935 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,304,000 after purchasing an additional 23,830 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Universal Insurance in the fourth quarter worth about $319,000. Finally, Rockwood Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Universal Insurance by 48.4% in the fourth quarter. Rockwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,373 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $337,000 after purchasing an additional 5,337 shares during the last quarter. 66.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 20,000 shares of Universal Insurance stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.08, for a total value of $441,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 990,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,863,616. This trade represents a 1.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jon Springer sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.63, for a total value of $515,750.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 383,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,905,993.64. This trade represents a 6.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 115,000 shares of company stock worth $2,424,450. Corporate insiders own 17.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com cut Universal Insurance from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th.

Universal Insurance Trading Down 2.1 %

Shares of UVE stock opened at $21.12 on Friday. Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $16.50 and a 12-month high of $23.39. 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 stock’s 50-day moving average price is $20.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $20.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $593.25 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.58 and a beta of 0.84.

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

Universal Insurance Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.03%. This is a positive change from Universal Insurance’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. Universal Insurance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.