Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Sold by Federated Hermes Inc.

Federated Hermes Inc. lessened its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 64.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 518,771 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 925,401 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. owned 0.14% of Paychex worth $61,506,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 8.3% during the second quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 61,049 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,238,000 after purchasing an additional 4,703 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter worth about $1,400,000. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 85.1% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,259,393 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $154,263,000 after purchasing an additional 579,136 shares during the period. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter worth about $23,330,000. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter worth about $774,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 8,954 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.60, for a total value of $1,106,714.40. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 79,232 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,793,075.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 9,615 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.60, for a total transaction of $1,207,644.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $676,104.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 8,954 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.60, for a total value of $1,106,714.40. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 79,232 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,793,075.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 147,163 shares of company stock valued at $17,537,817. Insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PAYX has been the subject of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Paychex from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $130.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Barclays reduced their price target on Paychex from $120.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 1st. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on Paychex from $121.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.00.

Paychex Stock Up 0.7 %

Paychex stock opened at $135.09 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.60 billion, a PE ratio of 28.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.00. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $106.27 and a 12 month high of $136.40. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $126.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $123.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.37.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The business services provider reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.02. Paychex had a return on equity of 46.63% and a net margin of 32.03%. The firm had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.97 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 8th were paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 8th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 83.94%.

About Paychex

Paychex, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides integrated human capital management solutions (HCM) for payroll, benefits, human resources (HR), and insurance services for small to medium-sized businesses in the United States, Europe, and India. It offers payroll processing services; payroll tax administration services; employee payment services; and regulatory compliance services, such as new-hire reporting and garnishment processing.