Freestone Capital Holdings LLC Makes New $465,000 Investment in Universal Co. (NYSE:UVV)

Freestone Capital Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of Universal Co. (NYSE:UVV) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 9,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $465,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its stake in shares of Universal by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 12,188 shares of the company’s stock worth $820,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Universal by 242.0% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 383 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 271 shares during the period. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of Universal by 71.9% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 655 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 274 shares during the period. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp boosted its stake in shares of Universal by 1.4% during the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 21,506 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,112,000 after buying an additional 290 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Universal by 81.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 725 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 325 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.00% of the company’s stock.

Universal Stock Performance

NYSE:UVV traded up $0.83 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $54.32. The stock had a trading volume of 70,679 shares, compared to its average volume of 230,533. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 2.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.21 and a beta of 0.80. Universal Co. has a twelve month low of $44.40 and a twelve month high of $67.80. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $48.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $51.33.

Universal (NYSE:UVV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 22nd. The company reported $1.79 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $770.86 million during the quarter. Universal had a net margin of 4.35% and a return on equity of 8.81%.

Universal Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 5th. Investors of record on Monday, July 8th will be given a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 8th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.96%. This is an increase from Universal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. Universal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.92%.

About Universal

Universal Corporation processes and supplies leaf tobacco and plant-based ingredients worldwide. The company operates through two segments, Tobacco Operations; and Ingredients Operations. It is involved in the procuring, financing, processing, packing, storing, and shipping leaf tobacco for sale to manufacturers of consumer tobacco products.