Public Sector Pension Investment Board Has $2.78 Million Stake in Universal Co. (NYSE:UVV)

Public Sector Pension Investment Board reduced its position in shares of Universal Co. (NYSE:UVV) by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 52,386 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,700 shares during the quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board owned 0.21% of Universal worth $2,782,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of UVV. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in Universal by 5.3% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 17,383 shares of the company’s stock valued at $900,000 after buying an additional 874 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Universal by 438.0% in the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 4,880 shares of the company’s stock valued at $233,000 after purchasing an additional 3,973 shares during the period. AlphaMark Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Universal by 41.7% in the second quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 850 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Universal by 145.2% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 610 shares during the period. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Universal by 3.1% during the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 23,753 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,145,000 after purchasing an additional 715 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.00% of the company’s stock.

Universal Stock Down 2.2 %

Universal stock opened at $55.94 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $52.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $51.21. The firm has a market cap of $1.38 billion, a PE ratio of 11.51 and a beta of 0.81. Universal Co. has a twelve month low of $45.19 and a twelve month 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 announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, November 7th that permits the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 7.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Universal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, January 13th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 13th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.79%. Universal’s payout ratio is 66.67%.

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.