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

Royce & Associates LP reduced its holdings in shares of Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP) by 25.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 182,451 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 61,015 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP owned about 0.63% of Univest Financial worth $5,384,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Univest Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $79,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in Univest Financial by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $142,000 after purchasing an additional 617 shares in the last quarter. Centiva Capital LP bought a new stake in Univest Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at $209,000. AlphaQuest LLC raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 7,024 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Univest Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at $417,000. 75.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Univest Financial

In other Univest Financial news, Director Anne Vazquez bought 1,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $28.63 per share, for a total transaction of $35,787.50. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,250 shares in the company, valued at $178,937.50. This represents a 25.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Univest Financial Trading Up 2.0 %

UVSP opened at $29.00 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $841.06 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.20 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. Univest Financial Co. has a 12 month low of $18.41 and a 12 month high of $32.75. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $29.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $29.46.

Univest Financial (NASDAQ:UVSP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.08. Univest Financial had a return on equity of 8.51% and a net margin of 15.17%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Univest Financial Co. will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Univest Financial Dividend Announcement

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 $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 5th. Univest Financial’s payout ratio is 32.43%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $31.00 target price on shares of Univest Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd.

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.