Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Boosts Position in Unity Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNTY)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its position in Unity Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNTY) by 78.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,636 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,337 shares during the quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. owned about 0.33% of Unity Bancorp worth $1,423,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Unity Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,247,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Unity Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth approximately $218,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Unity Bancorp by 34.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 40,102 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,749,000 after acquiring an additional 10,167 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP purchased a new stake in Unity Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at $67,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in Unity Bancorp by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 34,932 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,523,000 after purchasing an additional 1,629 shares during the period. 42.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Unity Bancorp Trading Up 1.5 %

UNTY opened at $42.71 on Thursday. Unity Bancorp, Inc. has a 52 week low of $25.60 and a 52 week high of $51.22. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $46.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.20. The firm has a market cap of $429.58 million, a P/E ratio of 10.52 and a beta of 0.95.

Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities analysts expect that Unity Bancorp, Inc. will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Unity Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. This is an increase from Unity Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Unity Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.79%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Vincent Geraci sold 1,811 shares of Unity Bancorp stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.82, for a total value of $92,035.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,312 shares in the company, valued at approximately $422,415.84. This trade represents a 17.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP James Joseph Donovan sold 1,080 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.88, for a total value of $52,790.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,975 shares in the company, valued at approximately $243,178. This trade represents a 17.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 7,791 shares of company stock worth $380,669 in the last ninety days. 28.88% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on UNTY shares. 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. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $54.00 price target (up from $53.00) on shares of Unity Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, January 16th.

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.