First Trust Advisors LP Takes Position in Unity Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNTY)

First Trust Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of Unity Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNTY - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 6,037 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $263,000. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.06% of Unity Bancorp at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNTY. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its position in shares of Unity Bancorp by 25.8% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 4,159 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $181,000 after acquiring an additional 852 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP acquired a new stake in shares of Unity Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth $67,000. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Unity Bancorp by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 15,700 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $685,000 after acquiring an additional 1,503 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Unity Bancorp by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 34,932 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,523,000 after acquiring an additional 1,629 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Unity Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth $135,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.31% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Donald E. Jr. Souders sold 1,333 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.23, for a total transaction of $54,959.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 8,477 shares in the company, valued at approximately $349,506.71. This trade represents a 13.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 29.68% of the company's stock.

Unity Bancorp Stock Up 3.6%

NASDAQ UNTY traded up $1.56 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $45.00. 59,922 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 29,353. Unity Bancorp, Inc. has a 12 month low of $25.60 and a 12 month high of $51.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $451.40 million, a PE ratio of 11.08 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a 50 day moving average of $41.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $44.06.

Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $29.35 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $28.81 million. Unity Bancorp had a net margin of 25.24% and a return on equity of 15.08%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.93 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Unity Bancorp, Inc. will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Unity Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Unity Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. Unity Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Unity Bancorp from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $55.00 target price (up from $51.00) on shares of Unity Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, January 16th.

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.