Bayview Asset Management LLC Buys 160,000 Shares of Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISI)

Bayview Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISI) by 1,345.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 171,889 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 160,000 shares during the quarter. Financial Institutions comprises about 3.8% of Bayview Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Bayview Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Financial Institutions were worth $4,691,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. PL Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Financial Institutions by 666.8% during the fourth quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 13,583,625 shares of the bank’s stock worth $370,697,000 after purchasing an additional 11,812,109 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Financial Institutions by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 971,659 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $26,516,000 after acquiring an additional 14,733 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Financial Institutions by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 925,285 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $25,251,000 after acquiring an additional 106,612 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in Financial Institutions during the fourth quarter worth about $18,294,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Financial Institutions by 38.1% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 424,825 shares of the bank’s stock worth $11,593,000 after purchasing an additional 117,142 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.45% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on FISI. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Financial Institutions from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $29.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $32.00 price objective on shares of Financial Institutions in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Financial Institutions from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday.

Financial Institutions Stock Up 2.6 %

FISI stock opened at $26.20 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $526.88 million, a P/E ratio of -18.07 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $24.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $26.21. Financial Institutions, Inc. has a 12 month low of $16.81 and a 12 month high of $29.79.

Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The bank reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.07. Financial Institutions had a negative net margin of 6.69% and a positive return on equity of 11.12%. The firm had revenue of $57.24 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $57.14 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Financial Institutions, Inc. will post 3.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Financial Institutions Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Financial Institutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.73%. Financial Institutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -165.33%.

Financial Institutions Profile

Financial Institutions, Inc operates as a holding company for the Five Star Bank, a chartered bank that provides banking and financial services to individuals, municipalities, and businesses in New York. The company provides checking and savings account programs, including money market accounts, certificates of deposit, sweep investments, and individual retirement and other qualified plan accounts, as well as NOW accounts.