Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP) Shares Bought by Wells Fargo & Company MN

Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its holdings in shares of Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP) by 24.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 18,698 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,701 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN owned approximately 0.06% of Univest Financial worth $552,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Barclays PLC lifted its position in Univest Financial by 91.3% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 66,603 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,875,000 after acquiring an additional 31,783 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Univest Financial by 64.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 103,531 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,913,000 after buying an additional 40,545 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Univest Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $2,299,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Univest Financial by 12.7% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 632,354 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,661,000 after buying an additional 71,265 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its position in Univest Financial by 22.0% during the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 56,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,657,000 after buying an additional 10,131 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Univest Financial Stock Up 2.7 %

Univest Financial stock opened at $30.52 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $28.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $29.49. The company has a market cap of $885.14 million, a PE ratio of 11.78 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Univest Financial Co. has a 1-year low of $20.37 and a 1-year high of $32.75.

Univest Financial (NASDAQ:UVSP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $79.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $77.65 million. Univest Financial had a net margin of 15.17% and a return on equity of 8.51%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Univest Financial Co. will post 2.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Univest Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 21st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This is a positive change from Univest Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 7th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.88%. Univest Financial’s payout ratio is 32.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Anne Vazquez bought 1,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $28.63 per share, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 25.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders have bought a total of 2,598 shares of company stock worth $75,476 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Univest Financial 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.