Vest Financial LLC Takes Position in Federated Hermes, Inc. $FHI

Vest Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Federated Hermes, Inc. (NYSE:FHI) in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 26,899 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,397,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. LSV Asset Management increased its stake in Federated Hermes by 77.6% in the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,966,142 shares of the company’s stock valued at $87,139,000 after acquiring an additional 859,053 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Federated Hermes by 20.1% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,978,885 shares of the company’s stock valued at $132,024,000 after purchasing an additional 498,202 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Federated Hermes by 405.3% in the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 607,504 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,925,000 after buying an additional 487,281 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Federated Hermes by 267.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 572,738 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,380,000 after buying an additional 416,909 shares during the period. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its stake in Federated Hermes by 49.1% in the 2nd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 840,996 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,273,000 after buying an additional 277,117 shares in the last quarter. 75.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Zacks Research lowered shares of Federated Hermes from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Wall Street Zen raised Federated Hermes from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Federated Hermes in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Federated Hermes from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Federated Hermes in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.20.

Federated Hermes Stock Down 2.3%

NYSE:FHI opened at $53.45 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 2.58 and a current ratio of 3.13. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $51.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $51.21. Federated Hermes, Inc. has a 52-week low of $35.05 and a 52-week high of $55.13.

Federated Hermes (NYSE:FHI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.23. Federated Hermes had a return on equity of 33.03% and a net margin of 21.86%.The company had revenue of $469.45 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $442.67 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.06 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Federated Hermes, Inc. will post 4.04 EPS for the current year.

Federated Hermes Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 7th were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 7th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. Federated Hermes’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.39%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Saker Anwar Nusseibeh sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.54, for a total value of $728,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 157,039 shares in the company, valued at $7,622,673.06. This represents a 8.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Richard A. Novak sold 1,249 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.85, for a total transaction of $59,764.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 57,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,751,375. The trade was a 2.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 21,709 shares of company stock valued at $1,049,146. 3.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Federated Hermes Profile

Federated Hermes, Inc is a global investment manager that provides a range of asset management solutions to institutional and individual investors. The company offers active strategies across equity, fixed income, multi-asset, liquidity, and alternative investments. Through its suite of mutual funds, separate accounts and collective investment vehicles, Federated Hermes seeks to deliver performance-driven outcomes aligned with client objectives and risk tolerances.

In addition to traditional investment management, Federated Hermes has developed specialized capabilities in sustainability and responsible investing, integrating environmental, social and governance (ESG) research into its investment process.