Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Makes New Investment in Universal Insurance Holdings Inc $UVE

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Universal Insurance Holdings Inc (NYSE:UVE) in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 12,944 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $545,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of UVE. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new stake in Universal Insurance during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,381,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Universal Insurance in the second quarter worth about $953,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of Universal Insurance in the second quarter worth about $7,537,000. NFJ Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Universal Insurance in the second quarter worth approximately $3,270,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Universal Insurance by 100.7% in the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 69,962 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,894,000 after acquiring an additional 35,097 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.61% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on UVE shares. Zacks Research raised shares of Universal Insurance from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Universal Insurance from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 31st. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Universal Insurance from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Universal Insurance from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (a+)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $51.00.

Insider Activity at Universal Insurance

In other Universal Insurance news, Chairman Sean Downes sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.23, for a total value of $964,600.00. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 1,064,645 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,347,828.35. This represents a 1.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Jon Springer sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.77, for a total value of $1,219,250.00. Following the sale, the director owned 225,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,009,047.18. This represents a 9.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 81,380 shares of company stock worth $3,865,415. Company insiders own 15.00% of the company’s stock.

Universal Insurance Trading Down 0.5%

NYSE:UVE opened at $46.51 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.57. Universal Insurance Holdings Inc has a fifty-two week low of $28.32 and a fifty-two week high of $50.75. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $45.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.34. The stock has a market cap of $1.29 billion, a PE ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.63.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The insurance provider reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.36. The business had revenue of $444.31 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $601.67 million. Universal Insurance had a net margin of 13.94% and a return on equity of 38.15%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Universal Insurance Holdings Inc will post 6.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Universal Insurance Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a special dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 11th. Investors of record on Friday, December 4th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 4th. Universal Insurance’s payout ratio is presently 8.00%.

Universal Insurance announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, October 29th that permits the company to repurchase $20 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the insurance provider to reacquire up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Universal Insurance Profile

Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc is a property and casualty insurance holding company whose subsidiaries provide coverage primarily for residential properties. Its products include homeowners, renters, condominium, dwelling fire and other property insurance.

The company conducts business through insurance and distribution subsidiaries, serving customers in Florida and other U.S. states. Its operations include underwriting, policy distribution, claims handling and risk management, with products generally sold through independent agents.

Universal Insurance Holdings is headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.