City (NASDAQ:CHCO) Sees Large Volume Increase - Here's Why

City Holding Company (NASDAQ:CHCO - Get Free Report) saw unusually-high trading volume on Thursday . Approximately 127,104 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 103% from the previous session's volume of 62,702 shares.The stock last traded at $128.65 and had previously closed at $127.35.

City Price Performance

The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $119.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $118.06. The company has a market capitalization of $1.87 billion, a PE ratio of 16.15 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

City (NASDAQ:CHCO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.84 by $0.22. City had a return on equity of 16.15% and a net margin of 30.62%. The company had revenue of $74.55 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $73.28 million. As a group, equities analysts forecast that City Holding Company will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

City Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. City's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.60%.

Insider Activity at City

In other City news, EVP Michael T. Quinlan, Jr. sold 1,400 shares of City stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.22, for a total transaction of $162,708.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 2,830 shares of the company's stock, valued at $328,902.60. The trade was a 33.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO David L. Bumgarner sold 1,058 shares of City stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.00, for a total transaction of $124,844.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 10,636 shares in the company, valued at $1,255,048. The trade was a 9.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,899 shares of company stock valued at $339,590 over the last three months. 1.87% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On City

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in City by 69.7% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 280 shares of the bank's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its position in shares of City by 43.9% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 282 shares of the bank's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in City by 781.3% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 423 shares of the bank's stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in City by 710.5% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 462 shares of the bank's stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First United Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of City during the first quarter worth about $78,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.43% of the company's stock.

About City

City Holding Company operates as a holding company for City National Bank of West Virginia that provides various banking, trust, and investment management, and other financial solutions in the United States. The company offers checking, savings, and money market accounts, as well as certificates of deposit and individual retirement accounts.