Federated Hermes Inc. Purchases 65,879 Shares of Community Bank System, Inc. (NYSE:CBU)

Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in Community Bank System, Inc. (NYSE:CBU - Free Report) by 14.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 536,844 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 65,879 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. owned 1.01% of Community Bank System worth $27,975,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in CBU. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Community Bank System by 43.0% during the 1st quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 5,912 shares of the bank's stock worth $422,000 after acquiring an additional 1,777 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in shares of Community Bank System by 1.0% during the first 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 during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Community Bank System by 15.8% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 7,143 shares of the bank's stock valued at $501,000 after purchasing an additional 977 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in Community Bank System by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 20,597 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,447,000 after purchasing an additional 540 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Citigroup Inc. raised its holdings in Community Bank System by 20.9% during the 1st quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 51,951 shares of the bank's stock worth $3,644,000 after buying an additional 8,977 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 73.79% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Community Bank System

In other Community Bank System news, Director Mark J. Bolus sold 3,631 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total value of $163,395.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 96,364 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,336,380. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Community Bank System news, Director Mark J. Bolus sold 3,631 shares of Community Bank System stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total value of $163,395.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 96,364 shares in the company, valued at $4,336,380. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dimitar Karaivanov purchased 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $43.70 per share, for a total transaction of $43,700.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 16,265 shares in the company, valued at $710,780.50. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 1.89% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CBU. Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Community Bank System from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 5th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Community Bank System in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Community Bank System to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $47.67.

Community Bank System Stock Up 4.8 %

Shares of CBU traded up $2.02 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $44.50. The company's stock had a trading volume of 428,596 shares, compared to its average volume of 214,285. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market cap of $2.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.59 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a 50 day moving average of $45.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $45.86. Community Bank System, Inc. has a 1-year low of $35.38 and a 1-year high of $55.64.

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

Community Bank System Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 10th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.04%. Community Bank System's payout ratio is 71.15%.

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.