Community Bank System, Inc. (NYSE:CBU) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its holdings in Community Bank System, Inc. (NYSE:CBU) by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 247,709 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 12,553 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.47% of Community Bank System worth $14,384,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. IFG Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Community Bank System during the 2nd quarter valued at about $212,000. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Community Bank System by 22.2% during the second quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 12,260 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $579,000 after purchasing an additional 2,226 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Community Bank System by 6.2% during the second quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 5,235 shares of the bank’s stock worth $247,000 after purchasing an additional 307 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Community Bank System by 164.9% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 213,167 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $10,064,000 after purchasing an additional 132,697 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in Community Bank System by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 14,930 shares of the bank’s stock worth $705,000 after buying an additional 258 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.79% of the company’s stock.

Community Bank System Stock Performance

Shares of Community Bank System stock opened at $62.31 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76. Community Bank System, Inc. has a 1 year low of $41.50 and a 1 year high of $73.39. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $65.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $59.05. The firm has a market cap of $3.28 billion, a PE ratio of 19.41 and a beta of 0.65.

Community Bank System (NYSE:CBU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The bank reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.88 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $188.94 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $186.35 million. Community Bank System had a net margin of 18.82% and a return on equity of 10.52%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.82 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Community Bank System, Inc. will post 3.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Community Bank System Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.95%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Community Bank System’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Raymond James raised shares of 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 research report on Monday, October 28th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Community Bank System in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 price target for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Community Bank System from $64.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $65.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director John F. Whipple sold 3,937 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.10, for a total transaction of $287,794.70. Following the sale, the director now owns 5,823 shares in the company, valued at $425,661.30. This represents a 40.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.89% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.