Franklin Resources Inc. Takes Position in Federated Hermes, Inc. (NYSE:FHI)

Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new position in shares of Federated Hermes, Inc. (NYSE:FHI - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 23,283 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $957,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Federated Hermes by 53.8% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,276,898 shares of the company's stock valued at $52,493,000 after purchasing an additional 446,683 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in shares of Federated Hermes by 51.6% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 818,408 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,645,000 after acquiring an additional 278,524 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Federated Hermes during the fourth quarter worth about $10,639,000. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Federated Hermes in the fourth quarter valued at about $6,841,000. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Federated Hermes by 228.6% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 215,650 shares of the company's stock worth $7,930,000 after purchasing an additional 150,017 shares during the last quarter. 75.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FHI has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and issued a $41.00 price target (down from $42.00) on shares of Federated Hermes in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "hold" rating and set a $43.00 price objective (down previously from $45.00) on shares of Federated Hermes in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Federated Hermes from $42.00 to $38.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Federated Hermes from $42.00 to $39.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Federated Hermes from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $41.17.

Insider Activity at Federated Hermes

In other news, CEO Saker Anwar Nusseibeh sold 5,546 shares of Federated Hermes stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.81, for a total transaction of $215,240.26. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 179,096 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,950,715.76. This trade represents a 3.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 3.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Federated Hermes Stock Performance

NYSE FHI traded up $0.11 on Friday, hitting $37.58. The stock had a trading volume of 520,289 shares, compared to its average volume of 733,617. The company's 50-day moving average is $38.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.56. Federated Hermes, Inc. has a one year low of $31.24 and a one year high of $43.92. The stock has a market cap of $3.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a quick ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 2.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Federated Hermes (NYSE:FHI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.08. Federated Hermes had a return on equity of 30.31% and a net margin of 16.44%. On average, analysts expect that Federated Hermes, Inc. will post 4.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Federated Hermes Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Federated Hermes's payout ratio is currently 38.87%.

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.