Ameriprise Financial Inc. Acquires 260,990 Shares of Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP - Free Report) by 189.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 398,475 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 260,990 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned about 1.37% of Univest Financial worth $11,759,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in Univest Financial by 161.2% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,003 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 619 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Univest Financial by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,796 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $142,000 after acquiring an additional 617 shares during the period. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury bought a new stake in shares of Univest Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $244,000. Zacks Investment Management bought a new stake in shares of Univest Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $289,000. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new stake in shares of Univest Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $290,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.07% of the company's stock.

Univest Financial Price Performance

UVSP stock traded down $0.24 during trading on Friday, hitting $29.38. 87,718 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 107,546. The stock has a market cap of $848.49 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.34 and a beta of 0.73. Univest Financial Co. has a one year low of $20.37 and a one year high of $32.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $28.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $29.73.

Univest Financial (NASDAQ:UVSP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.13. Univest Financial had a return on equity of 8.51% and a net margin of 15.17%. The business had revenue of $79.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $77.65 million. Equities analysts expect that Univest Financial Co. will post 2.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Univest Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 21st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.00%. This is a positive change from Univest Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 7th. Univest Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 32.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Univest Financial

In related news, Director Anne Vazquez bought 1,250 shares of Univest Financial 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 acquisition, the director now owns 6,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $178,937.50. This represents a 25.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company's stock.

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.