The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Boosts Stock Holdings in Universal Co. (NYSE:UVV)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in Universal Co. (NYSE:UVV) by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,290 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Universal were worth $592,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Universal by 69.1% during the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 273,280 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,169,000 after acquiring an additional 111,691 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners bought a new position in Universal during the first quarter valued at $12,273,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Universal by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 132,768 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,867,000 after buying an additional 4,826 shares during the last quarter. Insight Folios Inc raised its position in shares of Universal by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Insight Folios Inc now owns 112,210 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,804,000 after buying an additional 4,469 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wintrust Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Universal by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. Wintrust Investments LLC now owns 54,255 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,806,000 after buying an additional 3,500 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.00% of the company’s stock.

Universal Stock Performance

NYSE UVV opened at $50.09 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $1.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.50 and a beta of 0.77. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $52.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $50.78. Universal Co. has a fifty-two week low of $44.40 and a fifty-two week high of $67.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 2.60.

Universal (NYSE:UVV) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter. Universal had a return on equity of 8.92% and a net margin of 4.31%. The firm had revenue of $597.05 million for the quarter.

Universal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 14th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 11th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.47%. Universal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.92%.

Universal 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.