JPMorgan Chase & Co. Boosts Stock Holdings in Unity Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNTY)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Unity Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNTY - Free Report) by 46.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 128,941 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 40,710 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 1.29% of Unity Bancorp worth $5,623,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Unity Bancorp by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 152,590 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,198,000 after purchasing an additional 492 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Unity Bancorp by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 94,750 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,227,000 after purchasing an additional 607 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP acquired a new position in shares of Unity Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth $67,000. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of Unity Bancorp by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 34,932 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,523,000 after acquiring an additional 1,629 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Unity Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth $135,000. Institutional investors own 42.31% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on UNTY shares. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Unity Bancorp from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $55.00 price target (up previously from $51.00) on shares of Unity Bancorp in a report on Thursday, January 16th.

Insider Transactions at Unity Bancorp

In other news, SVP James Joseph Donovan sold 1,080 shares of Unity Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.88, for a total transaction of $52,790.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,975 shares in the company, valued at approximately $243,178. This trade represents a 17.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Mary E. Gross sold 3,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.04, for a total value of $158,532.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 18,479 shares of the company's stock, valued at $887,731.16. The trade was a 15.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 7,791 shares of company stock valued at $380,669 over the last ninety days. 29.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Unity Bancorp Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:UNTY traded up $0.96 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $42.96. 3,562 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 27,735. Unity Bancorp, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $25.60 and a fifty-two week high of $51.22. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $43.50. The firm has a market cap of $432.09 million, a PE ratio of 10.58 and a beta of 0.80.

Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $29.35 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $28.81 million. Unity Bancorp had a net margin of 25.24% and a return on equity of 15.08%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.93 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Unity Bancorp, Inc. will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Unity Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.30%. This is a positive change from Unity Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Unity Bancorp's payout ratio is presently 13.15%.

Unity Bancorp Profile

Unity Bancorp, Inc operates as a bank holding company for Unity Bank that provides range of commercial and retail banking services to individuals, small and medium sized businesses, and professional communities. It offers personal and business checking accounts, time deposits, money market accounts, savings accounts, and retirement accounts, as well as noninterest and interest-bearing demand deposits.