Vanguard Group Inc. Reduces Stock Position in City Holding Company $CHCO

Key Points

• Vanguard trimmed its City Holding stake by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, though it still held 1.67 million shares valued at about $199 million. Institutional ownership remains high at 72.43% of the company.
• City Holding reported solid quarterly results, posting $2.20 EPS, which beat estimates by $0.03, while revenue matched expectations at $79.25 million. The bank also continues to show strong profitability with a 16.58% return on equity.
• The company is returning capital to shareholders through a $0.87 quarterly dividend and a new share repurchase plan authorizing buybacks of up to 1 million shares. Insider selling has also been notable recently, including sales by the CFO and an EVP.

Vanguard Group Inc. lowered its stake in City Holding Company (NASDAQ:CHCO - Free Report) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,669,622 shares of the bank's stock after selling 21,689 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 11.59% of City worth $199,019,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CHCO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of City by 11.9% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 212,093 shares of the bank's stock worth $26,272,000 after acquiring an additional 22,536 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its stake in shares of City by 14.3% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 56,499 shares of the bank's stock worth $6,999,000 after acquiring an additional 7,081 shares during the last quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL boosted its stake in shares of City by 63.2% during the 3rd quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 77,039 shares of the bank's stock worth $9,543,000 after acquiring an additional 29,828 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of City by 255.3% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 8,936 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,107,000 after acquiring an additional 6,421 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rafferty Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of City by 86.2% during the 3rd quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 19,003 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,354,000 after acquiring an additional 8,795 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.43% of the company's stock.

City Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of CHCO stock opened at $123.01 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.55 and a beta of 0.50. City Holding Company has a one year low of $113.21 and a one year high of $133.59. The company's fifty day moving average price is $121.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $122.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

City (NASDAQ:CHCO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $2.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.17 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $79.25 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.25 million. City had a net margin of 32.72% and a return on equity of 16.58%. Sell-side analysts expect that City Holding Company will post 8.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

City Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th were given a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 15th. City's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.33%.

City announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, March 25th that authorizes the company to repurchase 1,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the bank to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of City from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Hovde Group lifted their price target on shares of City from $133.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $134.25.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO David L. Bumgarner sold 402 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.00, for a total transaction of $50,250.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 12,632 shares in the company, valued at $1,579,000. This trade represents a 3.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael T. Quinlan, Jr. sold 1,210 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.09, for a total transaction of $152,568.90. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 3,314 shares in the company, valued at $417,862.26. The trade was a 26.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have bought 908 shares of company stock worth $108,939 and have sold 9,117 shares worth $1,143,121. Insiders own 1.75% of the company's stock.

About City

City Holding Company NASDAQ: CHCO is a bank holding company headquartered in Morgantown, West Virginia. Through its wholly owned subsidiary, City National Bank, the company offers a full range of banking and financial services to individuals, businesses and nonprofit organizations. Its operations emphasize community-oriented banking, combining local decision-making with access to digital banking platforms.

The company's product portfolio includes deposit accounts such as checking, savings and money market accounts, as well as consumer and commercial lending solutions ranging from personal loans and mortgages to commercial real estate and equipment financing.

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