Russell Investments Group Ltd. Grows Position in Community Bank System, Inc. (NYSE:CBU)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in Community Bank System, Inc. (NYSE:CBU) by 88.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 102,586 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 48,103 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.20% of Community Bank System worth $6,328,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stifel Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Community Bank System by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 30,751 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,786,000 after buying an additional 1,085 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Community Bank System by 151.8% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 127,227 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,388,000 after buying an additional 76,703 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Community Bank System by 8.4% during the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 12,641 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $734,000 after buying an additional 979 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Community Bank System during the third quarter valued at approximately $451,000. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Community Bank System by 99.0% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 109,647 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,367,000 after acquiring an additional 54,554 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.79% of the company’s stock.

Community Bank System Stock Performance

Shares of CBU stock opened at $51.39 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $59.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $62.22. Community Bank System, Inc. has a 52 week low of $41.50 and a 52 week high of $73.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.72 billion, a PE ratio of 14.94 and a beta of 0.74.

Community Bank System (NYSE:CBU) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $196.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.76 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Community Bank System, Inc. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Community Bank System Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.58%. Community Bank System’s payout ratio is 53.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Community Bank System

In related news, SVP Jeffrey M. Levy sold 1,136 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.98, for a total value of $74,953.28. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $431,443.22. This trade represents a 14.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.89% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Community Bank System from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd.

About Community Bank System

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.