Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Buys 7,316 Shares of NBT Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:NBTB)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its stake in shares of NBT Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:NBTB) by 5.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 131,101 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 7,316 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC owned 0.28% of NBT Bancorp worth $6,261,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Swiss National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of NBT Bancorp by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 92,800 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,432,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of NBT Bancorp by 323.1% during the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 32,722 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,563,000 after buying an additional 24,988 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of NBT Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth about $4,294,000. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in NBT Bancorp by 45.5% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 7,613 shares of the bank’s stock worth $364,000 after purchasing an additional 2,382 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC raised its stake in NBT Bancorp by 601.9% in the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 9,125 shares of the bank’s stock worth $436,000 after purchasing an additional 7,825 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 58.46% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at NBT Bancorp

In other NBT Bancorp news, EVP Sarah A. Halliday sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.45, for a total transaction of $242,250.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,238,575.80. The trade was a 16.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Heidi M. Hoeller bought 678 shares of NBT Bancorp stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $48.45 per share, for a total transaction of $32,849.10. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 6,437 shares in the company, valued at approximately $311,872.65. The trade was a 11.77 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 3.32% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

NBT Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NBTB opened at $42.80 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $46.54 and a 200-day moving average of $46.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.02 billion, a PE ratio of 14.46 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. NBT Bancorp Inc. has a 12 month low of $32.93 and a 12 month high of $52.44.

NBT Bancorp (NASDAQ:NBTB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The bank reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.78 by ($0.01). NBT Bancorp had a net margin of 17.84% and a return on equity of 9.39%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.72 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that NBT Bancorp Inc. will post 3.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NBT Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. NBT Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Hovde Group assumed coverage on shares of NBT Bancorp in a research note on Friday. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of NBT Bancorp from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Stephens upgraded shares of NBT Bancorp from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $53.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com cut shares of NBT Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, DA Davidson began coverage on shares of NBT Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $60.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, NBT Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $54.50.

About NBT Bancorp

NBT Bancorp Inc, a financial holding company, provides commercial banking, retail banking, and wealth management services. Its deposit products include demand deposit, savings, negotiable order of withdrawal, money market deposit, and certificate of deposit accounts. The company's loan portfolio comprises indirect and direct consumer, home equity, mortgages, business banking loans, and commercial loans; commercial and industrial, commercial real estate, agricultural, and commercial construction loans; and residential real estate loans.