Insider Buying: Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP) Director Buys 1,250 Shares of Stock

Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP) Director Anne Vazquez bought 1,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $28.63 per share, with a total value of $35,787.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,250 shares in the company, valued at $178,937.50. This represents a 25.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Univest Financial Stock Performance

Shares of UVSP opened at $29.00 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $29.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $841.06 million, a PE ratio of 11.20 and a beta of 0.89. Univest Financial Co. has a 1 year low of $18.41 and a 1 year high of $32.75.

Univest Financial (NASDAQ:UVSP) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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, analysts predict that Univest Financial Co. will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Univest Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th were issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 5th. Univest Financial’s payout ratio is 32.43%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Univest Financial

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in UVSP. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in shares of Univest Financial by 161.2% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,003 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 619 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Univest Financial during the third quarter worth about $79,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Univest Financial by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $142,000 after purchasing an additional 617 shares during the last quarter. Centiva Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Univest Financial during the third quarter worth about $209,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Univest Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $240,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $31.00 price objective on shares of Univest Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd.

About Univest Financial

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.