Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Acquires New Position in Universal Corporation $UVV

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Universal Corporation (NYSE:UVV) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 73,942 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,306,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. owned 0.30% of Universal as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Private Advisor Group LLC bought a new position in Universal in the 1st quarter worth approximately $281,000. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC bought a new stake in Universal during the 1st quarter valued at $624,000. LPL Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Universal by 45.8% during the first quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 26,319 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,475,000 after acquiring an additional 8,271 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Universal by 54.3% in the first quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 16,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $925,000 after acquiring an additional 5,804 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Universal by 0.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,929,721 shares of the company’s stock valued at $164,211,000 after purchasing an additional 16,170 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.00% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on UVV. Wall Street Zen raised Universal from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Universal from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Universal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy”.

Universal Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UVV opened at $52.81 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $53.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $56.08. Universal Corporation has a twelve month low of $49.40 and a twelve month high of $67.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.85, a P/E/G ratio of 5.74 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 2.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Universal (NYSE:UVV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.18. Universal had a return on equity of 8.46% and a net margin of 3.51%.The company had revenue of $754.18 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $704.30 million.

Universal Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 12th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.2%. Universal’s payout ratio is 73.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Universal

In related news, COO Airton L. Hentschke sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.94, for a total transaction of $549,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 135,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,423,987.26. This trade represents a 6.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

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.