New York State Teachers Retirement System reduced its stake in Universal Corporation (NYSE:UVV – Free Report) by 43.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,043 shares of the company’s stock after selling 19,917 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in Universal were worth $1,372,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Universal by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 329,488 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,364,000 after purchasing an additional 1,810 shares in the last quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Universal during the first quarter worth $484,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of Universal during the first quarter worth $585,000. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Universal by 67.2% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 40,157 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,116,000 after buying an additional 16,141 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Universal by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 853,722 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,034,000 after buying an additional 37,921 shares during the last quarter. 81.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of brokerages recently issued reports on UVV. Weiss Ratings lowered Universal from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Zacks Research cut Universal from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce”.
Universal Stock Performance
NYSE:UVV traded up $0.16 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $51.62. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 228,163 shares, compared to its average volume of 254,077. Universal Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $49.19 and a fifty-two week high of $59.38. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $53.20 and its 200-day moving average is $53.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 3.49 and a quick ratio of 1.66. The firm has a market cap of $1.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.01, a P/E/G ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 0.59.
Universal (NYSE:UVV – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The company reported ($0.46) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by ($1.54). Universal had a return on equity of 4.43% and a net margin of 1.12%.The business had revenue of $715.24 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $728.20 million. Equities analysts anticipate that Universal Corporation will post 4.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Universal Increases Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, July 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.4%. This is a boost from Universal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 13th. Universal’s dividend payout ratio is 254.26%.
Insider Activity
In related news, Director Robert C. Sledd sold 2,845 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.12, for a total transaction of $153,971.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 11,959 shares in the company, valued at $647,221.08. The trade was a 19.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Universal Profile
Universal Corporation (NYSE: UVV) is a global agribusiness company primarily engaged in the procurement, processing and sale of leaf tobacco. Headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, the company sources cured leaf tobacco from key growing regions in North and South America, Africa and Asia. Universal serves major multinational tobacco manufacturers by providing a full range of services including inventory management, quality control and logistics support to ensure a consistent and reliable supply of tobacco leaf.
In addition to its core leaf tobacco operations, Universal offers integrated supply-chain services that encompass warehousing, distribution and ingredient sourcing for smokeless and novel tobacco products.
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