Virtu Financial LLC Acquires Shares of 4,755 Unity Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNTY)

Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Unity Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNTY) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 4,755 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $207,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of UNTY. Allworth Financial LP acquired a new position in Unity Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth $67,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in shares of Unity Bancorp by 84.6% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,464 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $84,000 after acquiring an additional 1,129 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Unity Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at about $135,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans purchased a new stake in shares of Unity Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $200,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Unity Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $218,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.31% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Unity Bancorp

In related news, Director Mark S. Brody sold 1,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.32, for a total value of $77,312.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 71,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,469,472.64. This trade represents a 2.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Vincent Geraci sold 1,811 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.82, for a total transaction of $92,035.02. Following the transaction, the director now owns 8,312 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $422,415.84. This trade represents a 17.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 7,791 shares of company stock valued at $380,669 in the last three months. 29.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNTY has been the topic of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $54.00 price target (up previously from $53.00) on shares of Unity Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $55.00 price objective (up from $51.00) on shares of Unity Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, January 16th.

Unity Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of UNTY stock opened at $41.29 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.16. The firm has a market cap of $415.29 million, a P/E ratio of 10.17 and a beta of 0.95. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $45.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.65. Unity Bancorp, Inc. has a one year low of $25.60 and a one year high of $51.22.

Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.05. Unity Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.08% and a net margin of 25.24%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Unity Bancorp, Inc. will post 4.83 EPS for the current year.

Unity Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.36%. This is a boost from Unity Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Unity Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.79%.

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.