The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Cuts Stock Position in Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its position in Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP - Free Report) by 6.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,128,566 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 81,785 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 3.89% of Univest Financial worth $31,758,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Univest Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in Univest Financial during the second quarter valued at $28,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Univest Financial by 2,713.5% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,463 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 1,411 shares during the period. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Univest Financial by 212.7% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,731 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $85,000 after acquiring an additional 2,538 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Comerica Bank boosted its stake in shares of Univest Financial by 11,533.8% during the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 8,609 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $179,000 after purchasing an additional 8,535 shares during the period. 75.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Univest Financial from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Michael S. Keim sold 3,633 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.76, for a total value of $104,485.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 55,679 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,601,328.04. This represents a 6.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jeffrey M. Schweitzer sold 1,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.50, for a total transaction of $34,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 90,187 shares in the company, valued at $2,570,329.50. This trade represents a 1.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 10,374 shares of company stock valued at $297,699. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Univest Financial Trading Down 0.7 %

UVSP traded down $0.21 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $31.76. 102,626 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 104,099. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $29.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $922.41 million, a PE ratio of 12.76 and a beta of 0.85. 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 Co. has a 52-week low of $18.41 and a 52-week high of $32.75.

Univest Financial (NASDAQ:UVSP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 net margin of 14.90% and a return on equity of 8.24%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.58 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Univest Financial Co. will post 2.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Univest Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 6th were given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 6th. Univest Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.73%.

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.