Universal Corporation $UVV Shares Sold by Alps Advisors Inc.

Alps Advisors Inc. decreased its position in Universal Corporation (NYSE:UVV) by 60.7% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 11,112 shares of the company’s stock after selling 17,166 shares during the period. Alps Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Universal were worth $621,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Federated Hermes Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Universal in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,351,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Universal in the 2nd quarter valued at about $683,000. DAVENPORT & Co LLC lifted its position in Universal by 29.9% in the third quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 138,568 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,742,000 after acquiring an additional 31,897 shares during the last quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors boosted its position in shares of Universal by 44.4% in the 2nd quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors now owns 17,793 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,036,000 after purchasing an additional 5,474 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in Universal by 1,218.7% during the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 123,602 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,199,000 after buying an additional 114,229 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on UVV shares. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Universal from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Universal from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Universal has an average rating of “Hold”.

Universal Price Performance

UVV stock opened at $52.73 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $54.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $54.04. Universal Corporation has a 1 year low of $49.96 and a 1 year high of $67.33. The firm has a market cap of $1.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.55, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 2.91.

Universal (NYSE:UVV) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The company reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.92 by ($0.57). The firm had revenue of $861.29 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $927.20 million. Universal had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 6.49%.

Universal Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 4th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th will be issued a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.2%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 15th. Universal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 96.76%.

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.