Do Hedge Funds and Insiders Love Universal Corp (UVV)?

Is Universal Corp (NYSE:UVV) an outstanding investment right now? Hedge funds are turning bullish. The number of long hedge fund positions went up by 2 lately.

In the financial world, there are many methods investors can use to watch publicly traded companies. A duo of the most useful are hedge fund and insider trading sentiment. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the elite hedge fund managers can outpace the market by a very impressive amount (see just how much).

Just as beneficial, bullish insider trading sentiment is a second way to break down the financial markets. Obviously, there are many stimuli for an executive to get rid of shares of his or her company, but just one, very obvious reason why they would buy. Several academic studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this method if “monkeys” understand what to do (learn more here).

With all of this in mind, it’s important to take a gander at the recent action regarding Universal Corp (NYSE:UVV).

What have hedge funds been doing with Universal Corp (NYSE:UVV)?

At Q1’s end, a total of 10 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 25% from one quarter earlier. With hedgies’ capital changing hands, there exists a select group of key hedge fund managers who were upping their holdings substantially.

Of the funds we track, Gotham Asset Management, managed by Joel Greenblatt, holds the biggest position in Universal Corp (NYSE:UVV). Gotham Asset Management has a $4.6 million position in the stock, comprising 0.2% of its 13F portfolio. On Gotham Asset Management’s heels is Cliff Asness of AQR Capital Management, with a $3.4 million position; less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Some other hedge funds that are bullish include Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell’s Arrowstreet Capital, Israel Englander’s Millennium Management and D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw.

With a general bullishness amongst the heavyweights, key money managers have jumped into Universal Corp (NYSE:UVV) headfirst. Millennium Management, managed by Israel Englander, created the most outsized position in Universal Corp (NYSE:UVV). Millennium Management had 2.7 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw also initiated a $1.6 million position during the quarter. The other funds with brand new UVV positions are Neil Chriss’s Hutchin Hill Capital and Mike Vranos’s Ellington.

What have insiders been doing with Universal Corp (NYSE:UVV)?

Insider purchases made by high-level executives is particularly usable when the company in question has seen transactions within the past 180 days. Over the last six-month time frame, Universal Corp (NYSE:UVV) has experienced zero unique insiders purchasing, and 8 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

With the returns shown by our tactics, everyday investors must always watch hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Universal Corp (NYSE:UVV) is an important part of this process.

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