Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC Sells 23,164 Shares of Unity Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNTY)

Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC trimmed its stake in Unity Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNTY) by 12.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 168,047 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 23,164 shares during the quarter. Unity Bancorp comprises approximately 1.7% of Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Unity Bancorp were worth $7,329,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in UNTY. Allworth Financial LP acquired a new stake in shares of Unity Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $67,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in Unity Bancorp by 84.6% in the third 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 bought a new position in shares of Unity Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at about $135,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans bought a new position in shares of Unity Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at about $200,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Unity Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at about $207,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.31% of the company’s stock.

Unity Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of UNTY opened at $41.70 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $46.07 and its 200-day moving average is $42.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $419.42 million, a PE ratio of 10.27 and a beta of 0.95. Unity Bancorp, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $25.60 and a fifty-two week 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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.05. Unity Bancorp had a net margin of 25.24% and a return on equity of 15.08%. Equities analysts forecast that Unity Bancorp, Inc. will post 4.83 EPS for the current year.

Unity Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. 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 1.34%. Unity Bancorp’s payout ratio is 13.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on UNTY shares. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $54.00 price target (up previously from $53.00) on shares of Unity Bancorp in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $55.00 target price (up from $51.00) on shares of Unity Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, January 16th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Unity Bancorp

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

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.