Carl P. Sherr & Co. LLC Boosts Position in Community Bank System, Inc. (NYSE:CBU)

Carl P. Sherr & Co. LLC grew its holdings in shares of Community Bank System, Inc. (NYSE:CBU) by 57.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 8,170 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,981 shares during the quarter. Carl P. Sherr & Co. LLC’s holdings in Community Bank System were worth $426,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Community Bank System during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Community Bank System in the second quarter worth $32,000. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in Community Bank System by 82.8% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 585 shares of the bank’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Community Bank System in the fourth quarter worth $50,000. Finally, Strs Ohio grew its stake in Community Bank System by 900.0% in the fourth quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 1,000 shares of the bank’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares during the period. 73.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com raised Community Bank System to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Raymond James upped their price target on Community Bank System from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 5th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of Community Bank System in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $47.67.

Community Bank System Stock Down 2.0 %

Community Bank System stock traded down $0.87 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $41.69. The company had a trading volume of 244,885 shares, compared to its average volume of 213,873. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $45.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $45.84. Community Bank System, Inc. has a 12 month low of $35.38 and a 12 month high of $55.64. The company has a market capitalization of $2.20 billion, a PE ratio of 16.47 and a beta of 0.66.

Community Bank System (NYSE:CBU) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.84 by ($0.08). Community Bank System had a return on equity of 9.15% and a net margin of 13.78%. The company had revenue of $177.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $175.25 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.96 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Community Bank System, Inc. will post 3.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Community Bank System Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.32%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Community Bank System’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 71.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Community Bank System news, Director Mark J. Bolus sold 3,631 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total value of $163,395.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 96,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,336,380. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Community Bank System news, CEO Dimitar Karaivanov purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $43.70 per share, with a total value of $43,700.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 16,265 shares in the company, valued at approximately $710,780.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Mark J. Bolus sold 3,631 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total value of $163,395.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 96,364 shares in the company, valued at $4,336,380. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.78% of the company’s stock.

Community Bank System Company 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.