Teacher Retirement System of Texas Boosts Stock Position in Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its holdings in shares of Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP) by 22.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 56,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 10,131 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned 0.19% of Univest Financial worth $1,657,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Univest Financial by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 704,445 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $19,826,000 after acquiring an additional 23,770 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Univest Financial by 0.5% in the 4th 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Univest Financial by 64.4% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 103,531 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,913,000 after purchasing an additional 40,545 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in Univest Financial by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 98,430 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,905,000 after purchasing an additional 4,739 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Univest Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,299,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.07% of the company’s stock.

Univest Financial Stock Down 0.5 %

NASDAQ:UVSP opened at $29.26 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $848.60 million, a PE ratio of 11.30 and a beta of 0.89. Univest Financial Co. has a 52 week low of $18.41 and a 52 week high of $32.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $29.82 and a 200-day moving average of $29.49.

Univest Financial (NASDAQ:UVSP) last posted its earnings results 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%. Analysts predict that Univest Financial Co. will post 2.36 EPS for the current year.

Univest Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th were given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 5th. Univest Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.43%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $31.00 target price on shares of Univest Financial in a report on Thursday, January 23rd.

Insider Buying and Selling at Univest Financial

In other Univest Financial news, Director Anne Vazquez acquired 1,250 shares of Univest Financial stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $28.63 per share, for a total transaction of $35,787.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $178,937.50. This represents a 25.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.