Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE) Shares Sold by Quest Partners LLC

Quest Partners LLC cut its position in shares of Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE) by 24.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 23,833 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 7,871 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC owned approximately 0.08% of Universal Insurance worth $528,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of UVE. Quarry LP raised its position in shares of Universal Insurance by 424.4% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,395 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 1,129 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd raised its position in Universal Insurance by 240.1% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,881 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 1,328 shares during the period. CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of Universal Insurance by 40.1% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,524 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 723 shares during the period. Occidental Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Universal Insurance during the 2nd quarter worth about $196,000. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP purchased a new stake in Universal Insurance in the 3rd quarter valued at about $202,000. 66.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 15,064 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.46, for a total transaction of $338,337.44. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 1,047,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,520,067.08. This represents a 1.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 55,064 shares of company stock worth $1,191,937 in the last ninety days. 17.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of Universal Insurance from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 10th.

Universal Insurance Stock Up 1.3 %

NYSE:UVE opened at $22.88 on Friday. Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $15.63 and a 52 week high of $23.27. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $20.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $647.28 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.30 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The insurance provider reported ($0.73) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.03) by $0.30. The firm had revenue of $387.55 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $341.98 million. Universal Insurance had a return on equity of 15.43% and a net margin of 4.82%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.16) EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. will post 1.66 EPS for the current year.

Universal Insurance Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. Universal Insurance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.02%.

About Universal Insurance

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.