11,304 Shares in Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP) Bought by Two Sigma Securities LLC

Two Sigma Securities LLC bought a new stake in Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 11,304 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $334,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of UVSP. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Univest Financial by 3.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 704,445 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $19,826,000 after purchasing an additional 23,770 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Univest Financial by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 632,354 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $18,661,000 after purchasing an additional 71,265 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in Univest Financial by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 239,059 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $7,055,000 after purchasing an additional 3,769 shares in the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Univest Financial by 23.0% during the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 173,024 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,106,000 after purchasing an additional 32,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Univest Financial by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 152,028 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,486,000 after purchasing an additional 807 shares in the last quarter. 75.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Univest Financial news, Director Anne Vazquez acquired 1,250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $28.63 per share, for a total transaction of $35,787.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 6,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $178,937.50. This trade represents a 25.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders have purchased 2,598 shares of company stock valued at $75,476 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.70% of the company's stock.

Univest Financial Stock Performance

Shares of UVSP stock traded up $0.19 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $29.73. 117,094 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 106,361. The company has a market cap of $862.23 million, a P/E ratio of 11.48 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $28.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.48. Univest Financial Co. has a 12-month low of $20.37 and a 12-month high of $32.75.

Univest Financial (NASDAQ:UVSP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $79.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $77.65 million. 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 Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 21st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This is a boost from Univest Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 7th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.96%. Univest Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 32.96%.

About Univest Financial

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.