Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP) Shares Sold by Leeward Investments LLC MA

Leeward Investments LLC MA decreased its holdings in Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 399,852 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,833 shares during the period. Leeward Investments LLC MA’s holdings in Univest Financial were worth $8,809,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Univest Financial by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,556,151 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,426,000 after acquiring an additional 130,584 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Univest Financial by 186.3% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 329,731 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,731,000 after buying an additional 214,572 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Univest Financial by 37.6% during 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. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Univest Financial by 14.9% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 265,738 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,619,000 after buying an additional 34,521 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Univest Financial by 78.3% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 180,994 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,146,000 after buying an additional 79,472 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.07% of the company’s stock.

Univest Financial Trading Up 3.3 %

Univest Financial stock traded up $0.68 during trading on Friday, hitting $21.23. The company had a trading volume of 101,048 shares, compared to its average volume of 105,457. Univest Financial Co. has a 1-year low of $16.10 and a 1-year high of $22.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $19.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.63. The stock has a market cap of $626.92 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.77 and a beta of 0.89.

Univest Financial (NASDAQ:UVSP) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.10. Univest Financial had a net margin of 14.98% and a return on equity of 8.42%. The firm had revenue of $71.38 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $70.32 million. As a group, analysts expect that Univest Financial Co. will post 2.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Univest Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 8th will be issued a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 7th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.96%. Univest Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on UVSP. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and set a $23.00 price target (up previously from $22.00) on shares of Univest Financial in a report on Friday. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Univest Financial from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st.

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.