Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Cuts Holdings in Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. trimmed its holdings in shares of Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP - Free Report) by 22.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 137,910 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 39,129 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.47% of Univest Financial worth $2,871,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in UVSP. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Univest Financial by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 64,598 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,123,000 after buying an additional 2,010 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Univest Financial by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,556,151 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $44,426,000 after buying an additional 130,584 shares during the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D boosted its stake in shares of Univest Financial by 44.8% in the 3rd quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 158,221 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,750,000 after buying an additional 48,922 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Univest Financial by 37.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 300,547 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,224,000 after buying an additional 82,107 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Univest Financial by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 64,778 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,126,000 after buying an additional 1,700 shares during the last quarter. 75.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Univest Financial

In other news, CEO Jeffrey M. Schweitzer sold 9,000 shares of Univest Financial stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.55, for a total value of $202,950.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 90,187 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,033,716.85. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 2.09% of the company's stock.

Univest Financial Price Performance

NASDAQ:UVSP traded down $0.64 on Monday, reaching $22.29. 140,867 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 106,627. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $20.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $20.30. The firm has a market cap of $652.43 million, a PE ratio of 9.33 and a beta of 0.87. Univest Financial Co. has a 12 month low of $16.10 and a 12 month high of $23.10.

Univest Financial (NASDAQ:UVSP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $77.06 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $71.40 million. Univest Financial had a return on equity of 8.35% and a net margin of 14.98%. Equities research analysts forecast that Univest Financial Co. will post 2.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Univest Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 7th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.77%. Univest Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 35.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on UVSP. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Univest Financial from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a "market perform" rating and set a $23.00 target price (up from $22.00) on shares of Univest Financial in a research report on Friday, April 26th.

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.

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