Meritage Portfolio Management Buys 11,523 Shares of Federated Hermes, Inc. (NYSE:FHI)

Meritage Portfolio Management increased its position in Federated Hermes, Inc. (NYSE:FHI - Free Report) by 100.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,964 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 11,523 shares during the quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management's holdings in Federated Hermes were worth $936,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in FHI. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Federated Hermes by 246.6% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 863 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 614 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new position in Federated Hermes in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. purchased a new stake in Federated Hermes during the 4th quarter valued at about $73,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in Federated Hermes by 55.1% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,065 shares of the company's stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 734 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Federated Hermes during the 4th quarter valued at about $90,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.94% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Federated Hermes

In related news, VP Paul A. Uhlman sold 6,057 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.14, for a total transaction of $255,241.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 316,930 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,355,430.20. This trade represents a 1.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 3.80% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on FHI. TD Cowen downgraded Federated Hermes from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Federated Hermes from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Federated Hermes from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Federated Hermes from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Federated Hermes has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $42.33.

Federated Hermes Stock Performance

FHI traded up $0.25 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $45.54. The company had a trading volume of 256,472 shares, compared to its average volume of 735,619. Federated Hermes, Inc. has a 1 year low of $31.94 and a 1 year high of $45.62. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 3.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market cap of $3.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.83, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.78. The business has a 50-day moving average of $42.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $40.23.

Federated Hermes (NYSE:FHI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.19. Federated Hermes had a net margin of 17.74% and a return on equity of 32.17%. The company had revenue of $423.54 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $425.43 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.89 EPS. Federated Hermes's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Federated Hermes, Inc. will post 4.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Federated Hermes Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 8th were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 8th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.99%. This is a boost from Federated Hermes's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Federated Hermes's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.31%.

Federated Hermes Company Profile

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.