Pzena Investment Management LLC Sells 77,202 Shares of Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP)

Pzena Investment Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP) by 5.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,458,921 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 77,202 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC owned approximately 4.94% of Univest Financial worth $32,140,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Univest Financial by 5.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,556,151 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,426,000 after acquiring an additional 130,584 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its position in shares of Univest Financial by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 439,664 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,589,000 after acquiring an additional 19,707 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Univest Financial by 186.3% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 329,731 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,731,000 after acquiring an additional 214,572 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Univest Financial by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 303,331 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,682,000 after acquiring an additional 2,784 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Univest Financial by 14.9% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 265,738 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,619,000 after purchasing an additional 34,521 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.07% of the company’s stock.

Univest Financial Stock Performance

Shares of UVSP traded down $0.02 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $22.54. The stock had a trading volume of 14,045 shares, compared to its average volume of 105,147. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $20.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $20.34. Univest Financial Co. has a one year low of $16.10 and a one year high of $23.10. The firm has a market cap of $659.75 million, a PE ratio of 9.46 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

Univest Financial (NASDAQ:UVSP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.12. Univest Financial had a net margin of 14.98% and a return on equity of 8.35%. The company had revenue of $77.06 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $71.40 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Univest Financial Co. will post 2.05 EPS for the current year.

Univest Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 8th were given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 7th. Univest Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $23.00 target price (up previously from $22.00) on shares of Univest Financial in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Univest Financial from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st.

Insider Transactions at Univest Financial

In other news, CEO Jeffrey M. Schweitzer sold 9,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.55, for a total transaction of $202,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 90,187 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,033,716.85. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.