Acadian Asset Management LLC Lowers Holdings in Unity Bancorp, Inc. $UNTY

Key Points

• Acadian Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in Unity Bancorp, Inc. by 9.7% during the first quarter, bringing its total shares to 97,948 valued at approximately $3.98 million.
• Unity Bancorp announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.15, with an annualized yield of 1.2%, with the dividend to be paid on September 19th.
• Recent research reports have upgraded Unity Bancorp from a "hold" to a "buy" rating, with analysts raising the price target from $55.00 to $63.00.

Acadian Asset Management LLC cut its position in Unity Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNTY - Free Report) by 9.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 97,948 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 10,580 shares during the quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC owned about 0.98% of Unity Bancorp worth $3,985,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of UNTY. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Unity Bancorp by 97.2% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 21,439 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $937,000 after purchasing an additional 10,567 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Unity Bancorp by 24.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 14,340 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $625,000 after purchasing an additional 2,793 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in Unity Bancorp by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 8,511 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $371,000 after purchasing an additional 403 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC purchased a new stake in shares of Unity Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at $202,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Unity Bancorp by 189.4% during the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 6,986 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $304,000 after buying an additional 4,572 shares in the last quarter. 42.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UNTY has been the topic of several research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Unity Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Unity Bancorp from $55.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $56.50.

Unity Bancorp Price Performance

UNTY stock opened at $51.89 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.20. Unity Bancorp, Inc. has a 52 week low of $32.23 and a 52 week high of $54.64. The firm's fifty day moving average is $50.88 and its 200 day moving average is $45.94. The firm has a market cap of $520.61 million, a P/E ratio of 10.50 and a beta of 0.79.

Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $34.37 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.30 million. Unity Bancorp had a net margin of 28.72% and a return on equity of 15.34%. Research analysts predict that Unity Bancorp, Inc. will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Unity Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This is a boost from Unity Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Unity Bancorp's payout ratio is 12.15%.

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.

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