Insider Buying: Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP) Director Buys $35,787.50 in Stock

Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP) Director Anne Vazquez bought 1,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $28.63 per share, with a total value of $35,787.50. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $178,937.50. This represents a 25.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Univest Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ UVSP opened at $28.64 on Friday. Univest Financial Co. has a fifty-two week low of $18.41 and a fifty-two week high of $32.75. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.45. The company has a market capitalization of $830.62 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.06 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 announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Analysts expect that Univest Financial Co. will post 2.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Univest Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th were issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 5th. Univest Financial’s payout ratio is 32.43%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Univest Financial

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. 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 valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 619 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Univest Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $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 valued at $142,000 after buying an additional 617 shares during the last quarter. Centiva Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Univest Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Univest Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $240,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $31.00 target price 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.