HighTower Advisors LLC Buys New Position in NBT Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:NBTB)

HighTower Advisors LLC purchased a new position in NBT Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:NBTB) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 5,231 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $235,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of NBT Bancorp by 47.9% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 778 shares of the bank’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE bought a new stake in NBT Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at $57,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in NBT Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth $57,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of NBT Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth about $103,000. Finally, Focused Wealth Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of NBT Bancorp during the third quarter valued at about $217,000. 58.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director John H. Watt, Jr. sold 20,000 shares of NBT Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.45, for a total value of $909,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 143,101 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,503,940.45. This trade represents a 12.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Amy Wiles sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.31, for a total transaction of $25,655.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 27,409 shares in the company, valued at $1,406,355.79. This represents a 1.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 81,694 shares of company stock worth $4,048,185. Corporate insiders own 3.32% of the company’s stock.

NBT Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NBTB opened at $49.19 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. NBT Bancorp Inc. has a twelve month low of $32.79 and a twelve month high of $52.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.32 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a 50 day moving average of $48.35 and a 200-day moving average of $45.14.

NBT Bancorp (NASDAQ:NBTB) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The bank reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.02. NBT Bancorp had a net margin of 17.37% and a return on equity of 9.36%. The business had revenue of $202.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $144.70 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.84 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that NBT Bancorp Inc. will post 2.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NBT Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. NBT Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.89%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on NBTB shares. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $49.00 price target on shares of NBT Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. StockNews.com raised shares of NBT Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target 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. Finally, DA Davidson began coverage on shares of NBT Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $60.00 price objective on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $48.17.

NBT Bancorp Company Profile

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.