Legal & General Group Plc Trims Stock Holdings in NBT Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:NBTB)

Legal & General Group Plc trimmed its position in shares of NBT Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:NBTB - Free Report) by 4.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 131,335 shares of the bank's stock after selling 6,391 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.28% of NBT Bancorp worth $6,273,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in NBT Bancorp by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,118,410 shares of the bank's stock worth $49,477,000 after buying an additional 10,628 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in NBT Bancorp by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 683,253 shares of the bank's stock worth $32,632,000 after acquiring an additional 75,693 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of NBT Bancorp by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 666,562 shares of the bank's stock worth $31,835,000 after purchasing an additional 50,152 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of NBT Bancorp by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 595,349 shares of the bank's stock worth $28,434,000 after purchasing an additional 9,713 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of NBT Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at $23,651,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.46% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Sarah A. Halliday sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.45, for a total value of $242,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,564 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,238,575.80. This trade represents a 16.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Heidi M. Hoeller bought 678 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $48.45 per share, for a total transaction of $32,849.10. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,437 shares in the company, valued at approximately $311,872.65. The trade was a 11.77 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.03% of the company's stock.

NBT Bancorp Price Performance

NBTB stock traded up $0.29 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $41.64. The company had a trading volume of 149,086 shares, compared to its average volume of 217,655. NBT Bancorp Inc. has a 12-month low of $34.47 and a 12-month high of $52.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $43.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.20. The company has a market capitalization of $1.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.04 and a beta of 0.53.

NBT Bancorp (NASDAQ:NBTB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 net margin of 17.84% and a return on equity of 9.39%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.72 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that NBT Bancorp Inc. will post 3.69 earnings per share for the current year.

NBT Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.27%. NBT Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NBTB has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered NBT Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Hovde Group started coverage on NBT Bancorp in a research report on Friday, March 21st. They set a "market perform" rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Finally, Stephens raised 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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.