Lazard Asset Management LLC Acquires Shares of 2,190 Federated Hermes, Inc. (NYSE:FHI)

Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Federated Hermes, Inc. (NYSE:FHI) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 2,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $90,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in FHI. Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in Federated Hermes by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 17,479 shares of the company’s stock worth $719,000 after buying an additional 1,487 shares during the period. Dean Capital Management grew its stake in Federated Hermes by 81.0% in the 4th quarter. Dean Capital Management now owns 70,058 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,880,000 after acquiring an additional 31,347 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Federated Hermes during the fourth quarter worth approximately $213,000. Crestline Management LP raised its stake in shares of Federated Hermes by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Crestline Management LP now owns 14,622 shares of the company’s stock valued at $601,000 after acquiring an additional 973 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in shares of Federated Hermes by 43.9% during the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 11,787 shares of the company’s stock valued at $485,000 after acquiring an additional 3,594 shares in the last quarter. 75.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Federated Hermes Stock Performance

FHI opened at $42.11 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $3.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a quick ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 2.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $40.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.09. Federated Hermes, Inc. has a 52-week low of $31.24 and a 52-week high of $43.92.

Federated Hermes (NYSE:FHI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.19. Federated Hermes had a net margin of 16.44% and a return on equity of 30.31%. The business had revenue of $423.54 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $425.43 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.89 EPS. Federated Hermes’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Federated Hermes, Inc. will post 4.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Federated Hermes Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 8th were paid a $0.34 dividend. This is a positive change from Federated Hermes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 8th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.23%. Federated Hermes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FHI has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group raised their price objective on Federated Hermes from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Federated Hermes from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Federated Hermes from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $41.00 price target (down from $42.00) on shares of Federated Hermes in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, TD Cowen cut shares of Federated Hermes from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $42.33.

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.