Royce & Associates LP Sells 61,015 Shares of Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP)

Royce & Associates LP trimmed its stake in Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP - Free Report) by 25.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 182,451 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 61,015 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP owned about 0.63% of Univest Financial worth $5,384,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Univest Financial in the third quarter worth $79,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 617 shares during the period. Centiva Capital LP acquired a new stake in Univest Financial in the third quarter worth $209,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Univest Financial in the third quarter worth $417,000. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC grew its holdings in 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 period. 75.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Anne Vazquez acquired 1,250 shares of Univest Financial stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $28.63 per share, with a total value of $35,787.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,250 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $178,937.50. This trade represents a 25.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Univest Financial Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ UVSP traded down $0.08 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $28.64. 211,295 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 95,905. The stock has a market cap of $830.62 million, a P/E ratio of 11.06 and a beta of 0.89. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $29.46. Univest Financial Co. has a 1-year low of $18.41 and a 1-year high of $32.75. 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 (NASDAQ:UVSP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.08. Univest Financial had a net margin of 15.17% and a return on equity of 8.51%. On average, analysts expect that Univest Financial Co. will post 2.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Univest Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th were issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 5th. Univest Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 32.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.