Franklin Resources Inc. Buys 60,018 Shares of Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISI)

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISI) by 334.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 77,956 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 60,018 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.50% of Financial Institutions worth $2,127,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Picton Mahoney Asset Management increased its stake in Financial Institutions by 45.5% during the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 1,196 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 374 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Financial Institutions by 0.3% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 124,428 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,169,000 after acquiring an additional 417 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Financial Institutions by 14.9% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 7,418 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $202,000 after acquiring an additional 964 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Financial Institutions in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Courier Capital LLC boosted its stake in Financial Institutions by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Courier Capital LLC now owns 352,126 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $9,610,000 after purchasing an additional 1,887 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.45% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Financial Institutions from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Piper Sandler began coverage on Financial Institutions in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $33.00 target price for the company. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $32.00 price target on shares of Financial Institutions in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Financial Institutions from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $29.00 to $34.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd.

Financial Institutions Stock Down 2.6 %

Financial Institutions stock opened at $21.43 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $430.27 million, a PE ratio of -14.78 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $26.19 and a 200 day moving average of $26.36. Financial Institutions, Inc. has a one year low of $16.29 and a one year high of $29.79.

Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.20). Financial Institutions had a positive return on equity of 11.12% and a negative net margin of 6.69%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Financial Institutions, Inc. will post 3.3 EPS for the current year.

Financial Institutions Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.79%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Financial Institutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Financial Institutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -85.52%.

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.