Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Decreases Stock Position in Federated Hermes, Inc. (NYSE:FHI)

Key Points

• Commonwealth Equity Services LLC reduced its stake in Federated Hermes, Inc. by 4.4% in the first quarter, owning 507,770 shares worth approximately $20.7 million after selling 23,479 shares.
• Several hedge funds increased their positions in Federated Hermes during the fourth quarter, with LSV Asset Management raising its stake by 48.2% and Renaissance Technologies increasing its stake by 54.2%.
• Federated Hermes recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.34 per share, which will be paid on August 15th, representing an annualized yield of 2.6%.

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC decreased its position in shares of Federated Hermes, Inc. (NYSE:FHI - Free Report) by 4.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 507,770 shares of the company's stock after selling 23,479 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC owned approximately 0.64% of Federated Hermes worth $20,702,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in FHI. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in Federated Hermes by 246.6% in the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 863 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 614 shares during the period. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Federated Hermes in the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of Federated Hermes by 55.1% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,065 shares of the company's stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 734 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Federated Hermes during the 4th quarter worth approximately $90,000. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Federated Hermes during the 1st quarter valued at $120,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.94% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on FHI. Wall Street Zen lowered Federated Hermes from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Federated Hermes from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Federated Hermes from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Federated Hermes from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $40.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Federated Hermes from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $46.00.

Insider Activity at Federated Hermes

In other news, VP Paul A. Uhlman sold 6,057 shares of Federated Hermes stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.14, for a total value of $255,241.98. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 316,930 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,355,430.20. The trade was a 1.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 3.80% of the company's stock.

Federated Hermes Stock Up 0.8%

NYSE FHI traded up $0.41 during trading on Friday, reaching $51.28. 702,168 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 714,926. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $45.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.72. Federated Hermes, Inc. has a 12-month low of $32.27 and a 12-month high of $52.24. The firm has a market cap of $3.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 3.37 and a quick ratio of 2.35.

Federated Hermes (NYSE:FHI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $424.84 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $424.83 million. Federated Hermes had a net margin of 21.67% and a return on equity of 32.30%. Federated Hermes's revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.96 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Federated Hermes, Inc. will post 4.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Federated Hermes Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. Federated Hermes's dividend payout ratio is presently 30.16%.

About Federated Hermes

Federated Hermes, Inc is a publicly owned investment manager. Through its subsidiaries, the firm provides its services to individuals, including high net worth individuals, banking or thrift institutions, investment companies, pension and profit sharing plans, pooled investment vehicles, charitable organizations, state or municipal government entities, and registered investment advisors.