Empowered Funds LLC Purchases 1,629 Shares of Unity Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNTY)

Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Unity Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNTY) by 4.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 34,932 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,629 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC owned 0.35% of Unity Bancorp worth $1,523,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of UNTY. Princeton Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Unity Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at about $208,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Unity Bancorp in the third quarter worth approximately $623,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of Unity Bancorp by 84.6% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,464 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $84,000 after acquiring an additional 1,129 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Unity Bancorp by 0.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 94,750 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,227,000 after acquiring an additional 607 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of 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 during the period. 42.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Unity Bancorp

In other news, Director Mary E. Gross sold 3,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now owns 18,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $887,731.16. The trade was a 15.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark S. Brody sold 2,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.33, for a total transaction of $132,524.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 70,002 shares in the company, valued at $3,313,194.66. This trade represents a 3.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 17,558 shares of company stock valued at $833,398 over the last 90 days. 28.88% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNTY has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $55.00 price target (up from $51.00) on shares of Unity Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Unity Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $54.00 price objective (up previously from $53.00) on shares of Unity Bancorp in a report on Thursday, January 16th.

Unity Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:UNTY opened at $48.29 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.16. Unity Bancorp, Inc. has a 1-year low of $25.60 and a 1-year high of $51.22. The company has a market capitalization of $482.42 million, a P/E ratio of 11.89 and a beta of 1.03. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $45.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $40.22.

Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.05. Unity Bancorp had a net margin of 25.24% and a return on equity of 15.08%. Research analysts expect that Unity Bancorp, Inc. will post 4.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unity Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. Unity Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.