Universal Co. (NYSE:UVV) Announces Dividend Increase – $0.80 Per Share

Universal Co. (NYSE:UVV – Get Rating) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, May 24th, Zacks reports. Investors of record on Monday, July 10th will be given a dividend of 0.80 per share on Monday, August 7th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 7th. This is an increase from Universal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79.

Universal has increased its dividend payment by an average of 1.3% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 51 consecutive years.

Universal Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UVV opened at $53.67 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $53.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $53.44. The company has a market cap of $1.32 billion, a PE ratio of 10.80 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 3.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. Universal has a twelve month low of $43.64 and a twelve month high of $64.13.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com began coverage on Universal in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Universal

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Universal by 0.3% in the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 117,952 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,258,000 after purchasing an additional 328 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Universal by 30.8% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 63,450 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,356,000 after purchasing an additional 14,957 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Universal in the first quarter valued at approximately $52,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Universal by 8.5% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 217,107 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,483,000 after purchasing an additional 16,926 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Universal by 4.4% in the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 468,622 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,785,000 after purchasing an additional 19,624 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.02% of the company’s stock.

Universal Company Profile

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Universal Corp. is a business-to-business agro-products supplier to consumer product manufacturers that sources and processes leaf tobacco and plant-based ingredients. It operates through the following segments: Tobacco Operations and Ingredients Operations. The Tobacco Operations segment includes selecting, procuring, processing, packing, storing, shipping, and financing leaf tobacco for sale to, or for the account of, manufacturers of consumer tobacco products throughout the world.