Principal Financial Group Inc. Decreases Stake in Community Bank System, Inc. (NYSE:CBU)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its holdings in Community Bank System, Inc. (NYSE:CBU - Free Report) by 4.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 247,709 shares of the bank's stock after selling 12,553 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.47% of Community Bank System worth $14,384,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Community Bank System in the second quarter valued at about $76,000. KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of Community Bank System by 23.6% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,816 shares of the bank's stock valued at $105,000 after acquiring an additional 347 shares during the period. Stone House Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Community Bank System by 51.0% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Community Bank System by 27.5% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 3,436 shares of the bank's stock worth $162,000 after acquiring an additional 741 shares during the period. Finally, MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Community Bank System in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $232,000. 73.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Community Bank System Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CBU traded down $0.96 during trading on Friday, reaching $62.31. The company had a trading volume of 214,517 shares, compared to its average volume of 278,146. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Community Bank System, Inc. has a twelve month low of $41.50 and a twelve month high of $73.39. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $65.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $59.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.28 billion, a PE ratio of 19.41 and a beta of 0.65.

Community Bank System (NYSE:CBU - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The bank reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.88 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $188.94 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $186.35 million. Community Bank System had a net margin of 18.82% and a return on equity of 10.52%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.82 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Community Bank System, Inc. will post 3.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Community Bank System Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.95%. Community Bank System's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Community Bank System

In other Community Bank System news, Director John F. Whipple sold 3,937 shares of Community Bank System stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.10, for a total value of $287,794.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,823 shares in the company, valued at $425,661.30. The trade was a 40.34 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.89% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on CBU. Piper Sandler started coverage on Community Bank System in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James upgraded shares of Community Bank System from a "market perform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $67.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $65.25.

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.