Universal (NYSE:UVV) Director Robert Sledd Sells 2,845 Shares of Stock

Universal Corporation (NYSE:UVV) Director Robert Sledd sold 2,845 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.12, for a total value of $153,971.40. Following the sale, the director owned 11,959 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $647,221.08. The trade was a 19.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Universal Trading Down 1.7%

Universal stock traded down $0.92 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $52.84. 212,501 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 213,641. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 3.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $53.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $53.50. Universal Corporation has a twelve month low of $49.19 and a twelve month high of $61.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.32 billion, a PE ratio of 40.96, a PEG ratio of 4.17 and a beta of 0.59.

Universal (NYSE:UVV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The company reported ($0.46) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($1.54). Universal had a net margin of 1.12% and a return on equity of 4.43%. The company had revenue of $715.24 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $728.20 million. Research analysts predict that Universal Corporation will post 4.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Universal Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 13th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.3%. This is an increase from Universal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 13th. Universal’s payout ratio is presently 254.26%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Universal

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in UVV. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Universal by 917.9% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 578,564 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,324,000 after acquiring an additional 521,724 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its holdings in Universal by 180.5% during the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 438,134 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,517,000 after purchasing an additional 281,920 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in Universal by 1,575.1% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 279,058 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,591,000 after purchasing an additional 262,399 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG boosted its holdings in Universal by 98.5% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 312,787 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,500,000 after purchasing an additional 155,244 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Universal by 21.2% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 815,801 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,579,000 after purchasing an additional 142,439 shares during the last quarter. 81.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on UVV shares. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Universal from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Zacks Research lowered shares of Universal from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Universal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Universal currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce”.

About Universal

Universal Corporation (NYSE: UVV) is a global agribusiness company primarily engaged in the procurement, processing and sale of leaf tobacco. Headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, the company sources cured leaf tobacco from key growing regions in North and South America, Africa and Asia. Universal serves major multinational tobacco manufacturers by providing a full range of services including inventory management, quality control and logistics support to ensure a consistent and reliable supply of tobacco leaf.

In addition to its core leaf tobacco operations, Universal offers integrated supply-chain services that encompass warehousing, distribution and ingredient sourcing for smokeless and novel tobacco products.