Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Acquires Shares of 257,403 Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania $UVSP

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in shares of Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania (NASDAQ:UVSP) during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 257,403 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $8,819,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Russell Investments Group Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania by 545.3% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,665 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 2,252 shares in the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania during the second quarter worth $91,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania by 69.6% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,225 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $97,000 after acquiring an additional 1,324 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mariner LLC purchased a new position in Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania in the fourth quarter worth $211,000. 75.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ UVSP opened at $44.40 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $39.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $36.07. Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania has a 52 week low of $27.91 and a 52 week high of $44.78. The stock has a market cap of $1.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.33 and a beta of 0.67.

Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania (NASDAQ:UVSP) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.12. Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania had a net margin of 18.25% and a return on equity of 10.19%. The company had revenue of $87.45 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $84.85 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania will post 3.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 6th were paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. This is a positive change from Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 6th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania’s dividend payout ratio is 27.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania in a research report on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $37.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Natalye Paquin sold 13,000 shares of Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.80, for a total transaction of $491,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 17,004 shares in the company, valued at $642,751.20. The trade was a 43.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jeffrey M. Schweitzer sold 13,933 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.91, for a total value of $569,999.03. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,513 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,521,086.83. The trade was a 11.20% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 36,268 shares of company stock valued at $1,427,334. 1.83% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania Profile

Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania is a financial holding company headquartered in Souderton, Pennsylvania, operating through its primary subsidiary, Univest Bank and Trust Co The company offers a comprehensive range of banking services, including commercial and consumer lending, deposit products, mortgage banking, treasury and payment solutions, and wealth management services. Through its community banking model, Univest serves individuals, small to middle-market businesses, and nonprofit and public institutions.

Founded in 1893 as Souderton Industrial Savings Association, Univest has grown through a combination of organic expansion and targeted acquisitions.