AlphaQuest LLC Purchases 7,024 Shares of Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP)

AlphaQuest LLC raised its position in shares of Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP) by 93.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 14,571 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 7,024 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Univest Financial were worth $430,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bailard Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Univest Financial by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 21,132 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $624,000 after buying an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in Univest Financial by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 24,724 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $730,000 after acquiring an additional 488 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 worth $142,000 after acquiring an additional 617 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Univest Financial by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 28,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $832,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Univest Financial by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 152,028 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,486,000 after purchasing an additional 807 shares in the last quarter. 75.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Univest Financial Stock Performance

UVSP opened at $27.71 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $803.65 million, a P/E ratio of 10.70 and a beta of 0.89. Univest Financial Co. has a 1-year low of $18.41 and a 1-year high of $32.75. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.45. 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) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.08. Univest Financial had a return on equity of 8.51% and a net margin of 15.17%. Equities analysts forecast that Univest Financial Co. will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Univest Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th were given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.03%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 5th. Univest Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 32.43%.

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.