Insider Selling: Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP) COO Sells 3,633 Shares of Stock

Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP) COO Michael S. Keim sold 3,633 shares of Univest Financial stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.76, for a total value of $104,485.08. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 55,679 shares in the company, valued at $1,601,328.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Univest Financial Price Performance

Shares of UVSP stock traded up $0.51 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $28.88. The stock had a trading volume of 27,422 shares, compared to its average volume of 103,004. Univest Financial Co. has a one year low of $16.10 and a one year high of $29.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $27.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $842.43 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.08 and a beta of 0.85.

Univest Financial (NASDAQ:UVSP) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.10. Univest Financial had a return on equity of 8.23% and a net margin of 14.91%. The firm had revenue of $120.81 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $72.50 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.61 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Univest Financial Co. will post 2.31 EPS for the current year.

Univest Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 7th were paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 7th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.91%. Univest Financial’s payout ratio is currently 35.15%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Univest Financial

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Univest Financial by 1.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,571,213 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,713,000 after acquiring an additional 19,307 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in shares of Univest Financial by 1.0% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,210,351 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,632,000 after buying an additional 12,401 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in shares of Univest Financial by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,197,934 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,390,000 after buying an additional 98,009 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Univest Financial by 21.0% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 482,089 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,006,000 after buying an additional 83,599 shares during the period. Finally, Leeward Investments LLC MA boosted its position in shares of Univest Financial by 5.6% during the second quarter. Leeward Investments LLC MA now owns 404,942 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,245,000 after buying an additional 21,550 shares during the period. 75.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Univest Financial from $20.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $29.00 price target (up from $23.00) on shares of Univest Financial in a report on Friday, July 26th.

Univest Financial Company 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.