Insider Buying: Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP) Director Buys 618 Shares of Stock

Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP - Get Free Report) Director Natalye Paquin bought 618 shares of Univest Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $30.19 per share, for a total transaction of $18,657.42. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 25,244 shares in the company, valued at approximately $762,116.36. The trade was a 2.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Univest Financial Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of Univest Financial stock traded up $0.64 on Thursday, reaching $31.63. 60,247 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 90,285. The firm's 50-day moving average is $30.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.88. The company has a market capitalization of $918.63 million, a P/E ratio of 12.21 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 Co. has a 52 week low of $18.41 and a 52 week high of $32.75.

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

Univest Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 5th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.66%. Univest Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.43%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Creative Planning lifted its position in Univest Financial by 21.9% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 40,220 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $918,000 after acquiring an additional 7,232 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Univest Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $289,000. CWM LLC raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 2,465 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Univest Financial by 2,713.5% in 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 during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Univest Financial by 57.5% in 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 last quarter. 75.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on UVSP shares. Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $31.00 price objective on shares of Univest Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Univest Financial from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note 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.