JPMorgan Chase & Co. Raises Stake in Unity Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNTY)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Unity Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNTY) by 79.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 88,231 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 39,033 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 0.88% of Unity Bancorp worth $3,005,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in shares of Unity Bancorp by 84.6% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,464 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 1,129 shares in the last quarter. Princeton Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Unity Bancorp during the third quarter valued at $208,000. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Unity Bancorp by 93.1% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 14,197 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $484,000 after acquiring an additional 6,846 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Unity Bancorp in the third quarter worth $623,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Unity Bancorp by 5.1% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 33,303 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,134,000 after acquiring an additional 1,608 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.31% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Unity Bancorp news, Director Vincent Geraci sold 1,043 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.98, for a total transaction of $46,914.14. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 8,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $371,085. This represents a 11.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP David G. Bove sold 4,167 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.78, for a total transaction of $194,932.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,837 shares in the company, valued at $460,174.86. The trade was a 29.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 10,810 shares of company stock valued at $499,642 in the last ninety days. 28.88% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNTY has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $55.00 price target (up previously from $51.00) on shares of Unity Bancorp in a research note on Thursday. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $54.00 target price (up previously from $53.00) on shares of Unity Bancorp in a research note on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Unity Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd.

Unity Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ UNTY opened at $47.15 on Monday. Unity Bancorp, Inc. has a one year low of $25.33 and a one year high of $48.44. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $44.70 and a 200 day moving average of $37.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.16. The company has a market capitalization of $470.84 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.12 and a beta of 1.03.

Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.05. Unity Bancorp had a net margin of 24.46% and a return on equity of 14.63%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Unity Bancorp, Inc. will post 4.01 EPS for the current year.

Unity Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.10%. Unity Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.81%.

About Unity Bancorp

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.