Trust Co. of Vermont Makes New $718,000 Investment in Community Financial System, Inc. $CBU

Trust Co. of Vermont bought a new stake in Community Financial System, Inc. (NYSE:CBU) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 10,691 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $718,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. IFP Advisors Inc increased its holdings in shares of Community Financial System by 507.0% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 522 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 436 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Community Financial System by 38.4% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 541 shares of the bank’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Community Financial System by 177.0% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 781 shares of the bank’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 499 shares during the period. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in Community Financial System during the first quarter worth about $102,000. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Community Financial System in the fourth quarter valued at about $155,000. 73.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Community Financial System news, Director Mark J. Bolus sold 12,191 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.00, for a total value of $816,797.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 94,060 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,302,020. This represents a 11.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Eric Stickels sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.98, for a total transaction of $127,960.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 31,592 shares in the company, valued at $2,021,256.16. This represents a 5.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.15% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Community Financial System from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Community Financial System from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price on shares of Community Financial System in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings raised Community Financial System from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Community Financial System from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Community Financial System presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $71.50.

Community Financial System Price Performance

CBU stock opened at $64.48 on Wednesday. Community Financial System, Inc. has a 1 year low of $53.46 and a 1 year high of $71.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $66.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $63.42. The firm has a market cap of $3.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.96 and a beta of 0.78.

Community Financial System (NYSE:CBU) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The bank reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $218.45 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $221.77 million. Community Financial System had a net margin of 21.79% and a return on equity of 11.47%. Community Financial System’s quarterly revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.04 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Community Financial System, Inc. will post 4.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Community Financial System Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. This is an increase from Community Financial System’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Community Financial System’s dividend payout ratio is 45.48%.

About Community Financial System

Community Financial System (NYSE: CBU) is the bank holding company for Community Bank, National Association, a full-service commercial bank headquartered in DeWitt, New York. Through its principal subsidiary, the company offers a range of banking and financial services designed to meet the needs of both consumer and business clients. Its organizational structure centers on community-based banking operations supported by centralized technology, risk management and administrative functions.

The company’s product offerings include deposit accounts, residential and commercial mortgage loans, commercial and consumer lending, treasury and cash management services, and electronic banking.