Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP) Director Natalye Paquin Buys 618 Shares of Stock

Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP) Director Natalye Paquin bought 618 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $30.19 per share, for a total transaction of $18,657.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 25,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $762,116.36. This represents a 2.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Univest Financial Price Performance

NASDAQ UVSP opened at $30.72 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $892.11 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.86 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $30.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.87. Univest Financial Co. has a 52-week low of $18.41 and a 52-week high of $32.75.

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

Univest Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 5th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.73%. Univest Financial’s payout ratio is 32.43%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Univest Financial by 3.5% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in 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 valued at $6,425,000 after acquiring an additional 83,312 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Univest Financial by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 152,028 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,486,000 after acquiring an additional 807 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Univest Financial by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 98,430 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,905,000 after acquiring an additional 4,739 shares in the last quarter. 75.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.