Private Advisor Group LLC Acquires New Position in Universal Co. (NYSE:UVV)

Private Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Universal Co. (NYSE:UVV) in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 4,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $254,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in shares of Universal by 80.1% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 12,034 shares of the company’s stock worth $622,000 after acquiring an additional 5,352 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in Universal by 76.0% in the 1st quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 6,417 shares of the company’s stock worth $332,000 after buying an additional 2,771 shares in the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp boosted its position in Universal by 1.4% during the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 21,506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,112,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in Universal in the first quarter worth approximately $534,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Universal during the 1st quarter worth $142,000. Institutional investors own 81.00% of the company’s stock.

Universal Price Performance

Shares of Universal stock opened at $52.04 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.71 and a beta of 0.77. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $51.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $50.90. Universal Co. has a 1-year low of $45.19 and a 1-year 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 (NYSE:UVV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter. Universal had a return on equity of 8.92% and a net margin of 4.31%. The company had revenue of $597.05 million for the quarter.

Universal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 13th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.23%. Universal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.67%.

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

Universal Company Profile

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.