American Century Companies Inc. Raises Stock Position in Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP)

American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP) by 12.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 632,354 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 71,265 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned 2.18% of Univest Financial worth $18,661,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Univest Financial in the third quarter worth about $79,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted 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 worth $142,000 after acquiring an additional 617 shares in the last quarter. Centiva Capital LP purchased a new position in Univest Financial in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $209,000. AlphaQuest LLC grew its position in Univest Financial by 93.1% in the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 14,571 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $430,000 after acquiring an additional 7,024 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bailard Inc. raised its stake in shares of Univest Financial by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 21,132 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $624,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the period. 75.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Univest Financial

In other news, Director Anne Vazquez acquired 1,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $28.63 per share, for a total transaction of $35,787.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $178,937.50. This represents a 25.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Univest Financial Trading Down 2.1 %

NASDAQ:UVSP opened at $28.65 on Monday. Univest Financial Co. has a one year low of $18.41 and a one year high of $32.75. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $29.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market cap of $830.91 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.06 and a beta of 0.89.

Univest Financial (NASDAQ:UVSP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.65 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Univest Financial Co. will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Univest Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th were issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 5th. Univest Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.43%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Univest Financial 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.