American Century Companies Inc. Acquires 71,265 Shares of Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP)

American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP - Free Report) by 12.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 632,354 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 71,265 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 2.18% of Univest Financial worth $18,661,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UVSP. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Univest Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,299,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Univest Financial by 64.4% during the 3rd 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. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Univest Financial by 91.3% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 66,603 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,875,000 after purchasing an additional 31,783 shares during the period. Martingale Asset Management L P boosted its position in shares of Univest Financial by 58.8% in the 3rd quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 71,530 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,013,000 after purchasing an additional 26,473 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Univest Financial by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 704,445 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $19,826,000 after purchasing an additional 23,770 shares during the last quarter. 75.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $31.00 target price on shares of Univest Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Anne Vazquez bought 1,250 shares of Univest Financial stock in a transaction that occurred 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 purchase, the director now owns 6,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $178,937.50. This trade represents a 25.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Univest Financial Trading Down 9.0 %

NASDAQ UVSP traded down $2.60 during trading on Thursday, reaching $26.44. 179,793 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 103,064. 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 quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The firm has a market cap of $766.81 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.21 and a beta of 0.89. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $29.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $29.51.

Univest Financial (NASDAQ:UVSP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Analysts predict that Univest Financial Co. will post 2.36 EPS for the current year.

Univest Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th were given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 5th. Univest Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 32.43%.

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.