Federated Hermes Inc. Sells 61,227 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Federated Hermes Inc. trimmed its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 4.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,483,579 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 61,227 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. owned 0.41% of Paychex worth $176,709,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex in the 4th quarter worth $214,000. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Paychex by 80.2% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 343,269 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $40,887,000 after purchasing an additional 152,818 shares in the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,229,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of Paychex by 218.8% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 680,257 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $80,794,000 after purchasing an additional 466,890 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Paychex by 366.5% during the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 20,863 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,485,000 after purchasing an additional 16,391 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on PAYX shares. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Paychex from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $120.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 22nd. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “in-line” rating and issued a $118.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Paychex currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.00.

Paychex Trading Down 0.2 %

NASDAQ PAYX traded down $0.18 during trading on Thursday, hitting $118.96. The stock had a trading volume of 518,355 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,787,578. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.96, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.93. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $104.09 and a one year high of $129.70. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $122.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $120.16.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 2nd. The business services provider reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.46 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 31.86% and a return on equity of 46.14%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.29 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Friday, January 19th that allows the company to buyback $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to purchase up to 0.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 15,481 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.53, for a total transaction of $1,865,924.93. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 82,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,966,625.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Profile

Paychex, Inc provides integrated human capital management solutions for human resources (HR), payroll, benefits, 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.