Unity Bancorp, Inc. $UNTY Stake Increased by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Unity Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNTY) by 31.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 65,477 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,628 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in Unity Bancorp were worth $3,200,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNTY. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in Unity Bancorp by 159.1% during the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 987 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 606 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Unity Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at about $49,000. AlphaQuest LLC bought a new position in shares of Unity Bancorp during the third quarter worth about $91,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in Unity Bancorp by 14.8% in the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,883 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $136,000 after purchasing an additional 372 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in Unity Bancorp in the second quarter valued at about $141,000. 42.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on UNTY. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Unity Bancorp from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Unity Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on Unity Bancorp from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Unity Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $65.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Minsu Kim sold 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.13, for a total transaction of $42,097.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 791 shares in the company, valued at $44,398.83. The trade was a 48.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert H. Dallas II sold 7,725 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.60, for a total value of $383,160.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 32,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,590,820.80. The trade was a 19.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 19,678 shares of company stock worth $1,003,769. 28.87% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Unity Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:UNTY opened at $52.91 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. Unity Bancorp, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $36.65 and a fifty-two week high of $57.30. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $52.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $51.26. The company has a market cap of $530.16 million, a PE ratio of 9.33 and a beta of 0.64.

Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 13th. The financial services provider reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.06. Unity Bancorp had a net margin of 30.76% and a return on equity of 15.88%. The firm had revenue of $33.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.39 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Unity Bancorp, Inc. will post 4.83 EPS for the current year.

Unity Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th were issued a $0.16 dividend. This is a positive change from Unity Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Unity Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.29%.

Unity Bancorp Profile

Unity Bancorp, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Morrisville, Pennsylvania, trading on the NASDAQ under the ticker UNTY. Through its primary subsidiary, Unity Bank, the company delivers a comprehensive suite of commercial and retail banking services to individuals, businesses and municipal clients in its regional markets.

Founded in 1906, Unity Bank maintains a network of conveniently located branches across Bucks County and adjacent areas of southeastern Pennsylvania. The company’s deposit portfolio includes checking and savings accounts, money market accounts and certificates of deposit, while its loan offerings encompass commercial real estate, construction and land development, agricultural and consumer lending solutions.

Beyond traditional deposit and lending activities, Unity Bancorp provides cash management and merchant services, as well as internet and mobile banking platforms designed to streamline day-to-day financial operations.