MML Investors Services LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Community Bank System, Inc. (NYSE:CBU)

MML Investors Services LLC boosted its holdings in Community Bank System, Inc. (NYSE:CBU) by 8.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,641 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 979 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC’s holdings in Community Bank System were worth $734,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CBU. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in Community Bank System during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $76,000. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of Community Bank System by 23.6% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,816 shares of the bank’s stock worth $105,000 after buying an additional 347 shares in the last quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Community Bank System by 51.0% during the third quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 2,360 shares of the bank’s stock worth $137,000 after acquiring an additional 797 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its stake in Community Bank System by 27.5% during the second quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 3,436 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $162,000 after acquiring an additional 741 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFG Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Community Bank System in the 2nd quarter valued at $212,000. 73.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John F. Whipple sold 3,937 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.10, for a total transaction of $287,794.70. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,823 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $425,661.30. This represents a 40.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.89% of the company’s stock.

Community Bank System Stock Up 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE:CBU opened at $62.64 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.51 and a beta of 0.65. Community Bank System, Inc. has a 12 month low of $41.50 and a 12 month high of $73.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $65.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $58.42.

Community Bank System (NYSE:CBU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The bank reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.88 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $188.94 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $186.35 million. Community Bank System had a net margin of 18.82% and a return on equity of 10.52%. Community Bank System’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.82 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Community Bank System, Inc. will post 3.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Community Bank System Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Community Bank System’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CBU has been the subject of several research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Community Bank System from $64.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Raymond James raised Community Bank System from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $67.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler began coverage on Community Bank System in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $65.25.

Community Bank System Company 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.