Invesco Ltd. Boosts Holdings in Community Bank System, Inc. (NYSE:CBU)

Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Community Bank System, Inc. (NYSE:CBU) by 4.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 188,507 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,218 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd. owned about 0.36% of Community Bank System worth $11,627,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in Community Bank System by 99.2% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 478 shares of the bank’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in Community Bank System by 17.1% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,081 shares of the bank’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Community Bank System by 140.1% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,203 shares of the bank’s stock worth $74,000 after acquiring an additional 702 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Community Bank System by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,774 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $109,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Community Bank System in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $127,000. 73.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Community Bank System Stock Up 3.1 %

Shares of CBU opened at $54.19 on Wednesday. Community Bank System, Inc. has a 12 month low of $42.16 and a 12 month high of $73.39. The firm has a market cap of $2.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.75 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $57.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $62.03.

Community Bank System (NYSE:CBU) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $196.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $190.95 million. Community Bank System had a net margin of 19.40% and a return on equity of 10.94%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.76 EPS. Analysts predict that Community Bank System, Inc. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Community Bank System Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.40%. Community Bank System’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.49%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Jeffrey M. Levy sold 1,136 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.98, for a total transaction of $74,953.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,539 shares in the company, valued at $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 is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Community Bank System from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note 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.