State Street Corp Acquires 71,773 Shares of Universal Co. (NYSE:UVV)

State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Universal Co. (NYSE:UVV) by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,218,793 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 71,773 shares during the quarter. State Street Corp’s holdings in Universal were worth $64,730,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Universal by 82.6% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 672 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Universal during the second quarter worth about $43,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in shares of Universal during the second quarter valued at about $48,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Universal by 145.2% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,030 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 610 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Universal by 57.8% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,141 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 418 shares in the last quarter. 81.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Universal Stock Down 2.4 %

NYSE:UVV opened at $54.99 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $53.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $51.78. The company has a market cap of $1.36 billion, a PE ratio of 11.31 and a beta of 0.81. Universal Co. has a twelve month low of $45.19 and a twelve month high of $67.80. The company has a current ratio of 2.60, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Universal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, January 13th will be given a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 13th. Universal’s payout ratio is 66.67%.

Universal announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, November 7th that permits the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 7.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.