Vestcor Inc Raises Stock Holdings in Federated Hermes, Inc. $FHI

Key Points

• Vestcor Inc increased its stake in Federated Hermes by 32.6% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 432,900 shares worth about $22.5 million.
• Federated Hermes reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $1.27 per share, topping estimates, while revenue rose 13.1% year over year to $478.96 million.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.38 per share from $0.34, which implies an annualized yield of about 2.7%.

Vestcor Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Federated Hermes, Inc. (NYSE:FHI - Free Report) by 32.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 432,900 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 106,377 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes makes up 0.6% of Vestcor Inc's holdings, making the stock its 28th largest position. Vestcor Inc owned about 0.56% of Federated Hermes worth $22,541,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Federated Hermes by 2,427.2% in the third quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 527,368 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,386,000 after buying an additional 506,500 shares during the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S lifted its position in shares of Federated Hermes by 3,592.3% in the third quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 46,412 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,410,000 after buying an additional 45,155 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management lifted its position in shares of Federated Hermes by 22.1% in the third quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,401,001 shares of the company's stock valued at $124,684,000 after buying an additional 434,859 shares during the last quarter. Burney Co. lifted its position in shares of Federated Hermes by 61.8% in the fourth quarter. Burney Co. now owns 218,661 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,386,000 after buying an additional 83,529 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alps Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Federated Hermes by 115.5% in the third quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 293,844 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,259,000 after buying an additional 157,462 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.94% of the company's stock.

Federated Hermes Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:FHI opened at $57.13 on Friday. Federated Hermes, Inc. has a 12-month low of $41.71 and a 12-month high of $59.05. The stock has a market cap of $4.34 billion, a PE ratio of 11.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.65. The business has a 50 day moving average of $56.23 and a 200-day moving average of $54.39. The company has a quick ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 3.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Federated Hermes (NYSE:FHI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.07. Federated Hermes had a net margin of 21.47% and a return on equity of 33.90%. The company had revenue of $478.96 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $475.22 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.25 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Federated Hermes, Inc. will post 5.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Federated Hermes Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th were given a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. This is a positive change from Federated Hermes's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Federated Hermes's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Bryan M. Burke sold 4,000 shares of Federated Hermes stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.20, for a total value of $216,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 74,921 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,060,718.20. The trade was a 5.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Paul A. Uhlman sold 72,392 shares of Federated Hermes stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.23, for a total transaction of $4,070,602.16. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 263,987 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,843,989.01. The trade was a 21.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 4.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on FHI. Wall Street Zen cut Federated Hermes from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Federated Hermes in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Federated Hermes from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Federated Hermes from $56.00 to $53.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on Federated Hermes from $56.00 to $54.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Federated Hermes has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $54.00.

About Federated Hermes

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.

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