Insider Buying: Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP) Director Buys $18,657.42 in Stock

Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP) Director Natalye Paquin acquired 618 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $30.19 per share, with a total value of $18,657.42. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 25,244 shares in the company, valued at approximately $762,116.36. The trade was a 2.51 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Univest Financial Stock Up 1.5 %

UVSP stock traded up $0.46 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $30.36. 19,464 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 89,280. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $30.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $28.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. Univest Financial Co. has a twelve month low of $18.41 and a twelve month high of $32.75. The company has a market capitalization of $881.65 million, a PE ratio of 11.72 and a beta of 0.89.

Univest Financial (NASDAQ:UVSP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.08. Univest Financial had a net margin of 15.17% and a return on equity of 8.51%. On average, research analysts forecast that Univest Financial Co. will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Univest Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 5th. Univest Financial’s payout ratio is 32.43%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on UVSP. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $31.00 price objective on shares of Univest Financial in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Univest Financial from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Univest Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Univest Financial by 57.5% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 228,321 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,425,000 after purchasing an additional 83,312 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Univest Financial by 64.4% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 103,531 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,913,000 after acquiring an additional 40,545 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Univest Financial by 91.3% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 66,603 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,875,000 after purchasing an additional 31,783 shares during the period. Martingale Asset Management L P increased its holdings in Univest Financial by 58.8% in the third quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 71,530 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,013,000 after purchasing an additional 26,473 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Univest Financial by 3.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 704,445 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $19,826,000 after buying an additional 23,770 shares during the period. 75.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Univest Financial Company Profile

Univest Financial Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Univest Bank and Trust Co that provides banking products and services primarily in the United States. It operates through three segments: Banking, Wealth Management, and Insurance. The Banking segment offers a range of banking services, such as deposit taking, loan origination and servicing, mortgage banking, other general banking, and equipment lease financing services for individuals, businesses, municipalities, and nonprofit organizations.