Royce & Associates LP Reduces Stock Holdings in Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP)

Royce & Associates LP lessened its position in shares of Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP) by 25.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 182,451 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 61,015 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP’s holdings in Univest Financial were worth $5,384,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its stake in Univest Financial by 66.7% during the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 24,722 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $730,000 after purchasing an additional 9,890 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC grew its stake 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 during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake 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 during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Univest Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,299,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Activity

In other Univest Financial news, Director Anne Vazquez purchased 1,250 shares of Univest Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was bought at an average price of $28.63 per share, with a total value of $35,787.50. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 6,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $178,937.50. This trade represents a 25.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Univest Financial Stock Performance

Shares of UVSP stock opened at $29.00 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $841.06 million, a PE ratio of 11.20 and a beta of 0.89. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $29.46. 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) 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 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%. On average, equities analysts expect that Univest Financial Co. will post 2.36 EPS for the current year.

Univest Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th were issued a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 5th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.90%. Univest Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.