Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP) Shares Acquired by Ameriprise Financial Inc.

Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP - Free Report) by 189.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 398,475 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 260,990 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned approximately 1.37% of Univest Financial worth $11,759,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Univest Financial

In other news, Director Anne Vazquez acquired 1,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $28.63 per share, with a total value of $35,787.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.70% of the company's stock.

Univest Financial Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:UVSP traded down $0.16 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $29.46. The company's stock had a trading volume of 21,190 shares, compared to its average volume of 107,179. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $28.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $29.74. Univest Financial Co. has a 52 week low of $20.37 and a 52 week high of $32.75. The company has a market capitalization of $850.80 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.37 and a beta of 0.73. 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 - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.77 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $79.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $77.65 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Univest Financial Co. will post 2.36 EPS for the current year.

Univest Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th were issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 7th. This is an increase from Univest Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.99%. Univest Financial's payout ratio is currently 32.96%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $31.00 target price on shares of Univest Financial in a report on Thursday, January 23rd.

Univest Financial Company 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.