Have Univest Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:UVSP) Insiders Been Selling Their Stock?

Anyone interested in Univest Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:UVSP) should probably be aware that the Independent Director, K. Moyer, recently divested US$145k worth of shares in the company, at an average price of US$29.07 each. However, the silver lining is that the sale only reduced their total holding by 6.0%, so we're hesitant to read anything much into it, on its own.

See our latest analysis for Univest Financial

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Univest Financial

The Independent Director, Roger Ballou, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$293k worth of shares at a price of US$29.26 each. So what is clear is that an insider saw fit to sell at around the current price of US$28.85. While we don't usually like to see insider selling, it's more concerning if the sales take place at a lower price. We note that this sale took place at around the current price, so it isn't a major concern, though it's hardly a good sign.

Over the last year, we can see that insiders have bought 9.21k shares worth US$218k. But they sold 16.38k shares for US$478k. Over the last year we saw more insider selling of Univest Financial shares, than buying. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

If you like to buy stocks that insiders are buying, rather than selling, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

Insider Ownership of Univest Financial

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Univest Financial insiders own about US$19m worth of shares. That equates to 2.3% of the company. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Univest Financial Insiders?

The stark truth for Univest Financial is that there has been more insider selling than insider buying in the last three months. Zooming out, the longer term picture doesn't give us much comfort. But it is good to see that Univest Financial is growing earnings. Insiders own shares, but we're still pretty cautious, given the history of sales. So we'd only buy after careful consideration. So while it's helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it's also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing. For instance, we've identified 2 warning signs for Univest Financial (1 shouldn't be ignored) you should be aware of.

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.

For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions, but not derivative transactions.

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