State of Tennessee Department of Treasury Makes New $244,000 Investment in Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP)

State of Tennessee Department of Treasury bought a new position in shares of Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 8,284 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $244,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UVSP. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in shares of Univest Financial by 161.2% in 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 purchasing an additional 619 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Univest Financial by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 17,559 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $518,000 after acquiring an additional 969 shares during the last quarter. Zacks Investment Management acquired a new stake in shares of Univest Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $289,000. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Univest Financial by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 73,185 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,160,000 after acquiring an additional 6,582 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Univest Financial by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 18,216 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $538,000 after acquiring an additional 826 shares during the last quarter. 75.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Univest Financial Stock Performance

UVSP stock traded down $0.30 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $30.36. 87,710 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 106,410. Univest Financial Co. has a 1-year low of $20.37 and a 1-year high of $32.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $876.80 million, a PE ratio of 11.72 and a beta of 0.73. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $28.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $29.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

Univest Financial (NASDAQ:UVSP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.77 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $79.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $77.65 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Univest Financial Co. will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Univest Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 21st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 7th. This is a boost from Univest Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Univest Financial's payout ratio is currently 32.96%.

Insider Transactions at Univest Financial

In other Univest Financial news, Director Anne Vazquez purchased 1,250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $28.63 per share, for a total transaction of $35,787.50. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued a $31.00 target price on shares of Univest Financial in a research report 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.