Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Purchases 9,890 Shares of Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its position in shares of Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP) by 66.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 24,722 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 9,890 shares during the quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. owned 0.09% of Univest Financial worth $730,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of UVSP. Bailard Inc. grew its stake in Univest Financial by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 21,132 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $624,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in Univest Financial by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 24,724 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $730,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in Univest Financial by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $142,000 after purchasing an additional 617 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Univest Financial by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 28,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $832,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Univest Financial by 0.5% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. 75.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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 Stock Performance

UVSP opened at $28.64 on Friday. Univest Financial Co. has a 12-month low of $18.41 and a 12-month high of $32.75. The stock has a market cap of $830.62 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.06 and a beta of 0.89. The business has a 50 day moving average of $29.80 and a 200-day moving average of $29.45. 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) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.08. Univest Financial had a return on equity of 8.51% and a net margin of 15.17%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Univest Financial Co. will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Univest Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th were given a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 5th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.93%. Univest Financial’s payout ratio is 32.43%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Anne Vazquez purchased 1,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $28.63 per share, with a total value of $35,787.50. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 6,250 shares in the company, 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 accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

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.