American Century Companies Inc. Purchases 40,809 Shares of Unity Bancorp, Inc. $UNTY

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. increased its ownership in Unity Bancorp by 41.7%, acquiring an additional 40,809 shares, bringing its total to 138,784 shares valued at approximately $5.6 million.
• Unity Bancorp recently raised its quarterly dividend to $0.15 per share, representing a 1.1% yield, with plans to distribute this on September 19th.
• Analysts have been optimistic about Unity Bancorp, with price target increases from Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, who now set it at $63, and a consensus rating of "Buy".

American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Unity Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNTY - Free Report) by 41.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 138,784 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 40,809 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 1.38% of Unity Bancorp worth $5,649,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in UNTY. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of Unity Bancorp by 122.5% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 612 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 337 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Unity Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its position in Unity Bancorp by 11,000.0% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 1,221 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 1,210 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Unity Bancorp by 11,262.5% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,727 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $111,000 after buying an additional 2,703 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. acquired a new position in Unity Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $148,000. 42.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Unity Bancorp Trading Down 0.3%

NASDAQ UNTY traded down $0.14 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $52.07. The company's stock had a trading volume of 18,985 shares, compared to its average volume of 33,519. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $50.43 and a 200 day moving average of $45.71. Unity Bancorp, Inc. has a twelve month low of $31.44 and a twelve month high of $54.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $522.26 million, a P/E ratio of 10.54 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

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

Unity Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This is an increase from Unity Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. Unity Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on UNTY shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Unity Bancorp from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target 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 data from MarketBeat, Unity Bancorp presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $56.50.

Unity Bancorp Company 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.