Navellier & Associates Inc. Buys 5,376 Shares of Universal Co. (NYSE:UVV)

Navellier & Associates Inc. increased its stake in Universal Co. (NYSE:UVV) by 7.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 74,078 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,376 shares during the period. Navellier & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Universal were worth $4,062,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Universal by 6.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,218,793 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,730,000 after purchasing an additional 71,773 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Universal by 0.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 566,356 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,085,000 after purchasing an additional 3,578 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Universal by 4.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 542,683 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,822,000 after purchasing an additional 24,089 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Universal by 2.3% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 221,695 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,774,000 after purchasing an additional 4,986 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Insight Folios Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Universal by 7.1% during the third quarter. Insight Folios Inc now owns 123,842 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,577,000 after purchasing an additional 8,222 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.00% of the company’s stock.

Universal Price Performance

UVV stock opened at $53.17 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $53.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $53.03. Universal Co. has a 52-week low of $45.19 and a 52-week high of $59.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.94 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 2.60.

Universal declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, November 7th that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 7.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Universal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 14th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.09%. Universal’s payout ratio is 66.67%.

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.