Royce & Associates LP Sells 28,122 Shares of Unity Bancorp, Inc. $UNTY

Royce & Associates LP trimmed its holdings in shares of Unity Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNTY) by 17.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 129,374 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 28,122 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP’s holdings in Unity Bancorp were worth $6,691,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Legato Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Unity Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $447,000. Salzhauer Michael bought a new stake in Unity Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $487,000. Axecap Investments LLC grew its holdings in Unity Bancorp by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Axecap Investments LLC now owns 48,830 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,525,000 after acquiring an additional 6,013 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its holdings in Unity Bancorp by 38.0% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 857 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its stake in shares of Unity Bancorp by 261.1% in the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 1,412 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 1,021 shares during the last quarter. 42.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on UNTY shares. Brean Capital started coverage on shares of Unity Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $61.00 price objective on the stock. DA Davidson started coverage on shares of Unity Bancorp in a research note on Friday, May 15th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Unity Bancorp from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $64.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at Unity Bancorp

In related news, Director Mary E. Gross sold 2,075 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.01, for a total transaction of $116,220.75. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 18,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,035,008.79. This represents a 10.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert H. Dallas II sold 7,725 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.60, for a total transaction of $383,160.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 32,073 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,590,820.80. This represents a 19.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 16,888 shares of company stock worth $851,654. 28.87% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Unity Bancorp Trading Up 1.5%

NASDAQ:UNTY opened at $56.25 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $53.17 and its 200-day moving average is $52.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17. Unity Bancorp, Inc. has a 52 week low of $41.67 and a 52 week high of $57.30. The firm has a market cap of $564.75 million, a P/E ratio of 9.47 and a beta of 0.60.

Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.03. Unity Bancorp had a net margin of 31.33% and a return on equity of 16.06%. The company had revenue of $33.61 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.59 million. Equities analysts expect that Unity Bancorp, Inc. will post 5.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Unity Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 4th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Unity Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.77%.

Unity Bancorp Company 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.