Universal Co. (NYSE:UVV) Position Increased by First Hawaiian Bank

First Hawaiian Bank raised its position in Universal Co. (NYSE:UVV) by 13.9% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 14,063 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,713 shares during the quarter. First Hawaiian Bank’s holdings in Universal were worth $727,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Universal in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $71,187,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Universal by 21.7% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,139,598 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,800,000 after purchasing an additional 203,514 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Universal by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 378,376 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,472,000 after buying an additional 28,016 shares during the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new stake in shares of Universal in the fourth quarter worth about $1,644,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Universal in the fourth quarter worth about $1,346,000. 81.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Universal Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of UVV stock opened at $47.31 on Friday. Universal Co. has a 12 month low of $44.40 and a 12 month high of $67.80. The business’s 50 day moving average is $49.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $53.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 2.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The company has a market cap of $1.16 billion, a PE ratio of 9.92 and a beta of 0.81.

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

Universal Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 5th. Investors of record on Monday, July 8th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 8th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.85%. This is a positive change from Universal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. Universal’s payout ratio is 67.09%.

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.