Prudential Financial Inc. Grows Position in Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP)

Prudential Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP - Free Report) by 23.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 173,024 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 32,400 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. owned about 0.60% of Univest Financial worth $5,106,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in UVSP. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Univest Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $79,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in 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 buying an additional 617 shares during the last quarter. Centiva Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of Univest Financial in the third quarter valued at $209,000. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its position in shares of Univest Financial by 93.1% during the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 14,571 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $430,000 after buying an additional 7,024 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in shares of Univest Financial during the 4th quarter worth $511,000. Institutional investors own 75.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Univest Financial Stock Performance

UVSP traded down $0.45 on Friday, hitting $25.99. The company's stock had a trading volume of 149,473 shares, compared to its average volume of 103,444. Univest Financial Co. has a 12 month low of $18.41 and a 12 month high of $32.75. The firm has a market cap of $753.76 million, a P/E ratio of 10.03 and a beta of 0.89. 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 company's 50 day simple moving average is $29.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $29.50.

Univest Financial (NASDAQ:UVSP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.08. Univest Financial had a return on equity of 8.51% and a net margin of 15.17%. Analysts forecast that Univest Financial Co. will post 2.36 EPS for the current year.

Univest Financial Announces Dividend

The business 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 5th. Univest Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 32.43%.

Insider Transactions at Univest Financial

In other news, Director Anne Vazquez bought 1,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $28.63 per share, with a total value of $35,787.50. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 6,250 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $178,937.50. The trade was a 25.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 1.70% of the company's stock.

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.