Legato Capital Management LLC Sells 15,865 Shares of Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE)

Legato Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE) by 22.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 53,291 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 15,865 shares during the quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC owned about 0.19% of Universal Insurance worth $1,122,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of UVE. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Universal Insurance by 7.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 689,767 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $15,289,000 after buying an additional 49,123 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its stake in Universal Insurance by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 570,615 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $12,017,000 after purchasing an additional 285,338 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Universal Insurance by 22.4% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 347,395 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $7,698,000 after purchasing an additional 63,582 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Universal Insurance by 16.7% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 174,232 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,861,000 after purchasing an additional 24,919 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Universal Insurance by 35.7% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 147,249 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,263,000 after purchasing an additional 38,767 shares during the last quarter. 66.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Universal Insurance

In related news, 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 transaction of $515,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 383,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,905,993.64. The trade was a 6.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.51, for a total transaction of $1,025,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 985,320 shares in the company, valued at $20,208,913.20. The trade was a 4.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 90,064 shares of company stock worth $1,879,587. 17.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Universal Insurance Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of UVE stock opened at $19.94 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $16.30 and a 12-month high of $23.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $564.10 million, a P/E ratio of 8.11 and a beta of 0.91. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $20.24 and its 200 day moving average is $20.60.

Universal Insurance Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.21%. This is a positive change from Universal Insurance’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. Universal Insurance’s payout ratio is presently 26.02%.

Universal Insurance Company 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.