Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 108,953 Shares of Community Bank System, Inc. (NYSE:CBU)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lessened its stake in Community Bank System, Inc. (NYSE:CBU - Free Report) by 71.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 42,784 shares of the bank's stock after selling 108,953 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.08% of Community Bank System worth $2,229,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in shares of Community Bank System by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 17,408 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,221,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY grew its stake in Community Bank System by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY now owns 3,377 shares of the bank's stock valued at $213,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Resources Management Corp CT ADV grew its stake in Community Bank System by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Resources Management Corp CT ADV now owns 8,250 shares of the bank's stock valued at $387,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in Community Bank System by 82.8% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 585 shares of the bank's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Community Bank System by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 21,622 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,368,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.79% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. DA Davidson reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Community Bank System in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Community Bank System from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 5th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Community Bank System to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $50.00.

Insider Transactions at Community Bank System

In related news, CEO Dimitar Karaivanov acquired 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $43.70 per share, for a total transaction of $43,700.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 16,265 shares in the company, valued at approximately $710,780.50. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Sally A. Steele sold 3,501 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.76, for a total value of $170,708.76. Following the transaction, the director now owns 33,634 shares in the company, valued at $1,639,993.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Dimitar Karaivanov purchased 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $43.70 per share, for a total transaction of $43,700.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 16,265 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $710,780.50. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 1.89% of the company's stock.

Community Bank System Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of Community Bank System stock traded down $0.42 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $45.64. 185,929 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 304,150. Community Bank System, Inc. has a twelve month low of $35.38 and a twelve month high of $55.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.04 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $45.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $45.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Community Bank System (NYSE:CBU - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.84 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $177.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $175.25 million. Community Bank System had a return on equity of 9.15% and a net margin of 13.78%. Community Bank System's revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.96 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Community Bank System, Inc. will post 3.24 EPS for the current year.

Community Bank System Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.94%. Community Bank System's payout ratio is currently 71.15%.

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.