77,891 Shares in Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP) Acquired by Raymond James Financial Inc.

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 77,891 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,299,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.27% of Univest Financial at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bailard Inc. increased its position in shares of Univest Financial by 1.6% in the fourth 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. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in Univest Financial by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 24,724 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $730,000 after acquiring an additional 488 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Univest Financial by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 28,200 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $832,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Univest Financial by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 152,028 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,486,000 after purchasing an additional 807 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of Univest Financial by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 46,768 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,380,000 after purchasing an additional 1,315 shares in the last quarter. 75.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Univest Financial news, Director Anne Vazquez acquired 1,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $28.63 per share, for a total transaction of $35,787.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 6,250 shares of the company's stock, valued at $178,937.50. This trade represents a 25.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Univest Financial Price Performance

Shares of UVSP traded down $2.60 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $26.44. 179,793 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 103,064. The stock has a market capitalization of $766.81 million, a PE ratio of 10.21 and a beta of 0.89. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $29.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $29.51. 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.

Univest Financial (NASDAQ:UVSP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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%. As a group, research analysts predict that Univest Financial Co. will post 2.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Univest Financial Dividend Announcement

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