Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 6,150 Shares of NBT Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:NBTB)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of NBT Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:NBTB - Free Report) by 2.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 234,849 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 6,150 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.50% of NBT Bancorp worth $10,075,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its position in NBT Bancorp by 817.7% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,450 shares of the bank's stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 1,292 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in shares of NBT Bancorp by 42.0% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,836 shares of the bank's stock worth $88,000 after buying an additional 543 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of NBT Bancorp by 28.4% during the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,763 shares of the bank's stock worth $119,000 after buying an additional 611 shares during the period. Cibc World Markets Corp bought a new stake in shares of NBT Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth about $206,000. Finally, Summit Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of NBT Bancorp by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 4,815 shares of the bank's stock worth $230,000 after buying an additional 310 shares during the period. 58.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on NBTB. Piper Sandler raised shares of NBT Bancorp to a "neutral" rating and set a $47.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of NBT Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. DA Davidson lowered their price objective on shares of NBT Bancorp from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Hovde Group assumed coverage on shares of NBT Bancorp in a research report on Friday, March 21st. They set a "market perform" rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $51.60.

NBT Bancorp Trading Down 1.1%

NASDAQ NBTB traded down $0.46 on Friday, hitting $43.31. The company's stock had a trading volume of 80,238 shares, compared to its average volume of 237,880. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. NBT Bancorp Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.31 and a 1-year high of $52.44. The company's 50-day moving average is $42.37 and its 200 day moving average is $43.85. The firm has a market cap of $2.05 billion, a PE ratio of 14.35 and a beta of 0.57.

NBT Bancorp (NASDAQ:NBTB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $155.31 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $151.00 million. NBT Bancorp had a net margin of 17.99% and a return on equity of 9.57%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.68 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that NBT Bancorp Inc. will post 3.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NBT Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were paid a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. NBT Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.03%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Heidi M. Hoeller purchased 2,588 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $42.88 per share, with a total value of $110,973.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 11,578 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $496,464.64. This trade represents a 28.79% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John H. Watt, Jr. sold 7,869 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.02, for a total transaction of $330,655.38. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 116,027 shares in the company, valued at $4,875,454.54. The trade was a 6.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders acquired 5,491 shares of company stock worth $235,674 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 3.03% 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.