Franklin Resources Inc. Cuts Holdings in Community Bank System, Inc. (NYSE:CBU)

Franklin Resources Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Community Bank System, Inc. (NYSE:CBU) by 19.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,983 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 3,380 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Community Bank System were worth $851,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. IFG Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Community Bank System during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $212,000. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Community Bank System by 22.2% during the second quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 12,260 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $579,000 after acquiring an additional 2,226 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its position in Community Bank System by 6.2% during the 2nd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 5,235 shares of the bank’s stock worth $247,000 after purchasing an additional 307 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Community Bank System by 164.9% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 213,167 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $10,064,000 after purchasing an additional 132,697 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in Community Bank System by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 14,930 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $705,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.79% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Community Bank System

In other news, Director John F. Whipple sold 3,937 shares of Community Bank System stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.10, for a total value of $287,794.70. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,823 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $425,661.30. The trade was a 40.34 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.89% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Raymond James upgraded 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 report on Monday, October 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target 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. Finally, Piper Sandler started coverage on Community Bank System in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Community Bank System has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $65.25.

Community Bank System Price Performance

Shares of CBU stock opened at $62.31 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76. Community Bank System, Inc. has a 1-year low of $41.50 and a 1-year high of $73.39. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $65.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $59.26. The firm has a market cap of $3.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.41 and a beta of 0.65.

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

Community Bank System Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Community Bank System’s payout ratio is currently 57.32%.

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.