Community Bank System, Inc. (NYSE:CBU) Shares Sold by Ausbil Investment Management Ltd

Ausbil Investment Management Ltd cut its position in Community Bank System, Inc. (NYSE:CBU) by 45.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,771 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 13,781 shares during the period. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Community Bank System were worth $1,039,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CBU. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in Community Bank System by 99.2% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 478 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of Community Bank System by 23.6% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,816 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $105,000 after acquiring an additional 347 shares during the last quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Community Bank System by 51.0% during the 3rd quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 2,360 shares of the bank’s stock worth $137,000 after acquiring an additional 797 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Community Bank System during the 4th quarter worth approximately $141,000. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in Community Bank System in the fourth quarter valued at $207,000. 73.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Community Bank System

In other Community Bank System news, Director John F. Whipple sold 3,937 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.10, for a total value of $287,794.70. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,823 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $425,661.30. This trade represents a 40.34 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jeffrey M. Levy sold 1,136 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.98, for a total transaction of $74,953.28. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $431,443.22. This represents a 14.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.89% of the company’s stock.

Community Bank System Stock Performance

CBU opened at $65.53 on Friday. Community Bank System, Inc. has a 1-year low of $41.50 and a 1-year high of $73.39. The stock has a market cap of $3.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.05 and a beta of 0.67. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $64.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $61.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

Community Bank System (NYSE:CBU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $196.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $190.95 million. Community Bank System had a net margin of 19.40% and a return on equity of 10.94%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.76 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Community Bank System, Inc. will post 4.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Community Bank System Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Community Bank System’s payout ratio is 53.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CBU has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Raymond James raised Community Bank System from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $67.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, October 28th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Community Bank System in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Community Bank System from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd.

Community Bank System Profile

Community Bank System, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Community Bank, N.A. that provides various banking and other financial services to retail, commercial, institutional, and municipal customers. It operates through three segments: Banking, Employee Benefit Services, and All Other. The company offers various deposits products, such as interest and noninterest -bearing checking, savings, and money market deposit accounts, as well as time deposits.