Raymond James Financial Inc. Buys New Holdings in Unity Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNTY)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Unity Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNTY) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 28,584 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,247,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.29% of Unity Bancorp as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Unity Bancorp by 79.3% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 88,231 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,005,000 after acquiring an additional 39,033 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of Unity Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth $845,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Unity Bancorp by 34.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 40,102 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,749,000 after acquiring an additional 10,167 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its position in Unity Bancorp by 93.1% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 14,197 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $484,000 after purchasing an additional 6,846 shares during the period. Finally, Foundations Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Unity Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth about $219,000. 42.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Unity Bancorp

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on UNTY. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $54.00 price objective (up previously from $53.00) on shares of Unity Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and set a $55.00 price target (up previously from $51.00) on shares of Unity Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, January 16th.

Unity Bancorp Price Performance

Unity Bancorp stock opened at $41.80 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $420.42 million, a P/E ratio of 10.30 and a beta of 0.95. Unity Bancorp, Inc. has a 12-month low of $25.60 and a 12-month high of $51.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $45.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.84.

Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities analysts predict that Unity Bancorp, Inc. will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Unity Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.14 dividend. This is an increase from Unity Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.34%. Unity Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.79%.

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.