First Trust Advisors LP Sells 12,612 Shares of Community Bank System, Inc. (NYSE:CBU)

First Trust Advisors LP cut its stake in shares of Community Bank System, Inc. (NYSE:CBU - Free Report) by 27.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 33,887 shares of the bank's stock after selling 12,612 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 0.06% of Community Bank System worth $2,090,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CBU. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Community Bank System in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,779,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Community Bank System by 210.0% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 348,405 shares of the bank's stock valued at $21,490,000 after buying an additional 236,028 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Community Bank System by 699.3% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 144,817 shares of the bank's stock valued at $8,932,000 after buying an additional 126,700 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Community Bank System by 12.9% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 831,387 shares of the bank's stock valued at $51,280,000 after buying an additional 94,850 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its position in Community Bank System by 99.0% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 109,647 shares of the bank's stock valued at $6,367,000 after purchasing an additional 54,554 shares during the last quarter. 73.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Community Bank System Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of CBU traded down $0.36 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $56.46. 112,322 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 260,116. The firm has a market cap of $2.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.41 and a beta of 0.77. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $55.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $61.66. Community Bank System, Inc. has a 12-month low of $42.16 and a 12-month high of $73.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Community Bank System (NYSE:CBU - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The bank reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.02. Community Bank System had a net margin of 19.40% and a return on equity of 10.94%. The firm had revenue of $196.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $197.13 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.18 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Community Bank System, Inc. will post 4.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Community Bank System Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Community Bank System's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Community Bank System from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective 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.

Community Bank 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.