JPMorgan Chase & Co. Purchases 35,571 Shares of Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP - Free Report) by 34.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 139,102 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 35,571 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned 0.48% of Univest Financial worth $4,105,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Univest Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $79,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Univest Financial by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,796 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $142,000 after purchasing an additional 617 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC grew its holdings in shares of Univest Financial by 93.1% in the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 14,571 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $430,000 after purchasing an additional 7,024 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in Univest Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $511,000. Finally, Bailard Inc. lifted its holdings in Univest Financial by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 21,132 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $624,000 after buying an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. 75.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Anne Vazquez purchased 1,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $28.63 per share, for a total transaction of $35,787.50. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 6,250 shares of the company's stock, valued at $178,937.50. The trade was a 25.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Univest Financial Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of UVSP stock traded up $0.34 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $28.45. The stock had a trading volume of 123,755 shares, compared to its average volume of 106,532. The firm has a market capitalization of $825.11 million, a P/E ratio of 10.98 and a beta of 0.72. 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 12-month low of $19.61 and a 12-month high of $32.75. The firm's 50-day moving average is $28.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.40.

Univest Financial (NASDAQ:UVSP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.13. Univest Financial had a net margin of 15.17% and a return on equity of 8.51%. On average, analysts predict that Univest Financial Co. will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Univest Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.09%. This is a positive change from Univest Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Univest Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.43%.

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.