Stanley Laman Group Ltd. Takes Position in Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP)

Stanley Laman Group Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 9,884 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $218,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in UVSP. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Univest Financial by 2,103.8% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,146 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 1,094 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Univest Financial by 1,787.7% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,227 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,162 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP raised its position in shares of Univest Financial by 1,029.9% during the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 2,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,823 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in shares of Univest Financial by 212.8% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,853 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 1,941 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in Univest Financial by 27.1% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 5,597 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $123,000 after acquiring an additional 1,194 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on UVSP shares. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Univest Financial from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $23.00 price target (up from $22.00) on shares of Univest Financial in a research note on Friday.

Univest Financial Stock Performance

Univest Financial stock traded up $0.68 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $21.23. 101,048 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 105,457. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. Univest Financial Co. has a fifty-two week low of $16.10 and a fifty-two week high of $22.49. The company has a market capitalization of $626.92 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.77 and a beta of 0.89. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $19.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.63.

Univest Financial (NASDAQ:UVSP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $71.38 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $70.32 million. Univest Financial had a net margin of 14.98% and a return on equity of 8.42%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Univest Financial Co. will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Univest Financial Announces Dividend

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

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.