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

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

Univest Financial Trading Up 2.7 %

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

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

Univest Financial Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Piper Sandler increased 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. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $31.00 price objective on shares of Univest Financial in a report on Thursday, January 23rd.

Institutional Trading of Univest Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of UVSP. Creative Planning lifted its stake in shares of Univest Financial by 21.9% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 40,220 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $918,000 after buying an additional 7,232 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Univest Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $289,000. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of Univest Financial by 66.1% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $174,000 after acquiring an additional 2,465 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Univest Financial by 2,713.5% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,463 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 1,411 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased 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 valued at $6,425,000 after purchasing an additional 83,312 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.