Stonebridge Financial Group LLC Acquires Shares of 11,529 NBT Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:NBTB)

Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in NBT Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:NBTB) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 11,529 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $551,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of NBTB. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in NBT Bancorp by 47.9% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 778 shares of the bank’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE purchased a new position in NBT Bancorp in the third quarter worth about $57,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NBT Bancorp during the third quarter valued at approximately $57,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of NBT Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $98,000. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its holdings in NBT Bancorp by 47.5% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,152 shares of the bank’s stock worth $103,000 after acquiring an additional 693 shares during the last quarter. 58.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

NBT Bancorp Stock Up 1.7 %

NBT Bancorp stock opened at $49.14 on Wednesday. NBT Bancorp Inc. has a one year low of $32.79 and a one year high of $52.44. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $48.43 and a 200 day moving average of $47.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.87. The stock has a market cap of $2.32 billion, a PE ratio of 16.60 and a beta of 0.52.

NBT Bancorp (NASDAQ:NBTB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The bank reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.78 by ($0.01). NBT Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.39% and a net margin of 17.84%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.72 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that NBT Bancorp Inc. will post 3.69 EPS for the current year.

NBT Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. NBT Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.95%.

Insider Activity

In other NBT Bancorp news, EVP Sarah A. Halliday sold 5,000 shares of the firm’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 owns 25,564 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,238,575.80. This trade represents a 16.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Amy Wiles sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.31, for a total transaction of $25,655.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 27,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,406,355.79. The trade was a 1.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 25,694 shares of company stock valued at $1,272,535 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 3.32% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on NBTB. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on NBT Bancorp from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com cut NBT Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. DA Davidson initiated coverage on NBT Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $60.00 target price for the company. Finally, Stephens upgraded shares of NBT Bancorp from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $53.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NBT Bancorp currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $51.75.

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.