Norges Bank Makes New Investment in NBT Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:NBTB)

Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of NBT Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:NBTB) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 141,031 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $6,736,000. Norges Bank owned about 0.30% of NBT Bancorp at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of NBT Bancorp by 66.5% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,295 shares of the bank’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 517 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its stake in NBT Bancorp by 42.0% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,836 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $88,000 after buying an additional 543 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in NBT Bancorp by 27.7% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,755 shares of the bank’s stock worth $132,000 after buying an additional 597 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank increased its holdings in shares of NBT Bancorp by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 92,800 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,432,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.46% of the company’s stock.

NBT Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NBTB opened at $38.64 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The company has a market capitalization of $1.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.05 and a beta of 0.53. The business’s 50-day moving average is $45.00 and its 200-day moving average is $46.52. NBT Bancorp Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $32.93 and a fifty-two week high of $52.44.

NBT Bancorp (NASDAQ:NBTB) last issued its earnings results 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 period last year, the business earned $0.72 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that NBT Bancorp Inc. will post 3.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NBT Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.52%. NBT Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on NBTB shares. Stephens raised shares of NBT Bancorp from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $53.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. DA Davidson initiated coverage on NBT Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $60.00 target price for the company. Hovde Group started coverage on NBT Bancorp in a report on Friday, March 21st. They set a “market perform” rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded NBT Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $54.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Sarah A. Halliday sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.45, for a total transaction of $242,250.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 25,564 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,238,575.80. The trade was a 16.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Heidi M. Hoeller purchased 678 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $48.45 per share, with a total value of $32,849.10. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 6,437 shares in the company, valued at approximately $311,872.65. This represents a 11.77 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 3.32% of the company’s stock.

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.