Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Takes $3.99 Million Position in Community Financial System, Inc. $CBU

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. acquired a new position in shares of Community Financial System, Inc. (NYSE:CBU - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 70,104 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $3,986,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned about 0.13% of Community Financial System at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CBU. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its position in shares of Community Financial System by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 5,120 shares of the bank's stock worth $316,000 after purchasing an additional 544 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in Community Financial System by 103.5% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 63,027 shares of the bank's stock valued at $3,888,000 after acquiring an additional 32,059 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Community Financial System during the 4th quarter valued at about $874,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in Community Financial System by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 29,779 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,837,000 after acquiring an additional 1,141 shares during the period. Finally, Quantedge Capital Pte Ltd purchased a new position in Community Financial System during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,733,000. 73.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Community Financial System Price Performance

CBU traded down $0.36 during trading on Friday, reaching $58.77. 34,739 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 236,172. The business's 50 day moving average price is $57.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $56.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The company has a market capitalization of $3.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.02 and a beta of 0.79. Community Financial System, Inc. has a 1 year low of $49.44 and a 1 year high of $73.39.

Community Financial System (NYSE:CBU - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.03 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $199.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $201.93 million. Community Financial System had a return on equity of 10.71% and a net margin of 19.91%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.95 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Community Financial System, Inc. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Community Financial System Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be given a $0.47 dividend. This is an increase from Community Financial System's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. Community Financial System's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.23%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Jeffrey M. Levy sold 1,440 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.38, for a total value of $88,387.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 6,657 shares in the company, valued at $408,606.66. This represents a 17.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.01% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Community Financial System from $69.00 to $67.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen cut Community Financial System from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $68.00.

Community Financial System 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.