Ameriprise Financial Inc. Acquires 23,278 Shares of Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISI)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISI - Free Report) by 20.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 135,218 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 23,278 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned 0.87% of Financial Institutions worth $3,690,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FISI. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Financial Institutions in the 4th quarter worth approximately $318,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Financial Institutions by 14.9% in the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 112,129 shares of the bank's stock worth $3,060,000 after acquiring an additional 14,570 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Financial Institutions by 1,409.9% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 231,010 shares of the bank's stock worth $6,304,000 after acquiring an additional 215,710 shares in the last quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Financial Institutions by 666.8% in the 4th quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 13,583,625 shares of the bank's stock worth $370,697,000 after acquiring an additional 11,812,109 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Financial Institutions by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 69,862 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,907,000 after acquiring an additional 3,412 shares in the last quarter. 60.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Financial Institutions Trading Up 0.4%

NASDAQ:FISI traded up $0.11 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $25.83. 34,759 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 104,645. The company's 50 day moving average is $24.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.31. Financial Institutions, Inc. has a twelve month low of $16.81 and a twelve month high of $29.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company has a market capitalization of $519.44 million, a P/E ratio of -17.80 and a beta of 0.70.

Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The bank reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.07. Financial Institutions had a positive return on equity of 11.12% and a negative net margin of 6.69%. The firm had revenue of $57.24 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $57.14 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Financial Institutions, Inc. will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Financial Institutions Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Financial Institutions's dividend payout ratio is -165.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FISI has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Financial Institutions from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Financial Institutions from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $29.00 to $34.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $32.00 price objective on shares of Financial Institutions in a report on Tuesday, March 11th.

About Financial Institutions

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.