Royce & Associates LP Lowers Stock Holdings in Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP)

Royce & Associates LP reduced its stake in Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP - Free Report) by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 243,466 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 27,258 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP owned about 0.84% of Univest Financial worth $6,851,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of Univest Financial by 10.7% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 19,713 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $410,000 after buying an additional 1,909 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in shares of Univest Financial by 28.3% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 118,994 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,478,000 after purchasing an additional 26,234 shares during the period. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of Univest Financial in the first quarter valued at about $465,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Univest Financial by 1.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,571,213 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $32,713,000 after buying an additional 19,307 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Comerica Bank increased its holdings in Univest Financial by 11,533.8% in the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 8,609 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $179,000 after buying an additional 8,535 shares during the period. 75.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Univest Financial Stock Performance

Shares of UVSP traded down $0.17 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $30.77. The stock had a trading volume of 92,319 shares, compared to its average volume of 104,262. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $28.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $25.70. Univest Financial Co. has a fifty-two week low of $18.17 and a fifty-two week high of $32.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $893.56 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.36 and a beta of 0.85. 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 (NASDAQ:UVSP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $126.59 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $74.11 million. Univest Financial had a return on equity of 8.24% and a net margin of 14.90%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.58 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Univest Financial Co. will post 2.35 EPS for the current year.

Univest Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 6th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 6th. Univest Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 33.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Univest Financial

In other news, COO Michael S. Keim sold 3,633 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.76, for a total value of $104,485.08. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 55,679 shares in the company, valued at $1,601,328.04. This trade represents a 6.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Jeffrey M. Schweitzer sold 2,773 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.56, for a total value of $79,196.88. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 90,187 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,575,740.72. The trade was a 2.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,389 shares of company stock valued at $412,352 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.09% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on UVSP shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $29.00 price objective (up previously from $23.00) on shares of Univest Financial in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Univest Financial from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th.

Univest Financial 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.