Franklin Resources Inc. Acquires 12,771 Shares of Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP)

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP) by 35.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 48,312 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,771 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.17% of Univest Financial worth $1,348,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Univest Financial in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Univest Financial during the second quarter valued at about $28,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Univest Financial by 2,713.5% during 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 buying an additional 1,411 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Univest Financial in the third quarter worth about $79,000. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of Univest Financial by 66.1% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $174,000 after acquiring an additional 2,465 shares during the last quarter. 75.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Univest Financial Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ UVSP opened at $29.46 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $855.61 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.83 and a beta of 0.88. Univest Financial Co. has a 52 week low of $18.41 and a 52 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. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $30.36 and its 200 day moving average is $27.47.

Univest Financial (NASDAQ:UVSP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.63 EPS 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 the consensus estimate 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 prior year, the firm posted $0.58 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Univest Financial Co. will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Univest Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 6th were issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 6th. Univest Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Piper Sandler raised their price target on Univest Financial from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th.

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.