Two Sigma Securities LLC Purchases Shares of 11,304 Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP)

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

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Univest Financial by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 704,445 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $19,826,000 after buying an additional 23,770 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Univest Financial by 12.7% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 632,354 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $18,661,000 after acquiring an additional 71,265 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 3,769 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its position in Univest Financial by 23.0% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Univest Financial by 0.5% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. 75.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Anne Vazquez bought 1,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was purchased 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 directly owns 6,250 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $178,937.50. This trade represents a 25.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders purchased 2,598 shares of company stock worth $75,476 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company's stock.

Univest Financial Stock Performance

UVSP stock traded up $0.79 during trading on Friday, reaching $30.52. 84,831 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 106,128. Univest Financial Co. has a 1-year low of $20.37 and a 1-year high of $32.75. The firm has a market cap of $885.14 million, a PE ratio of 11.78 and a beta of 0.73. The company's fifty day moving average price is $28.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $29.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current 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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $79.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $77.65 million. Univest Financial had a net margin of 15.17% and a return on equity of 8.51%. On average, research analysts expect that Univest Financial Co. will post 2.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Univest Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 21st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. This is a positive change from Univest Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 7th. Univest Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 32.96%.

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.

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.