Federated Hermes Inc. Sells 158,250 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Key Points

• Federated Hermes Inc. reduced its stake in Paychex, Inc. by 10.2%, now owning 1,396,038 shares valued at $215.38 million.
• Paychex recently reported earnings of $1.19 EPS, meeting consensus estimates, and had a revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $1.08 per share, with a dividend yield of 2.95% and a payout ratio of 94.53%.

Federated Hermes Inc. reduced its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 10.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,396,038 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 158,250 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. owned about 0.39% of Paychex worth $215,381,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Summit Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in Paychex by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Summit Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,027 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $467,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Golden State Equity Partners lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 7,623 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,176,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,192 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $492,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Asset Dedication LLC lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 12.1% during the 1st quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 711 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $110,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 7.6% during the 1st quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,148 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $177,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of PAYX stock traded down $5.46 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $138.87. 3,052,521 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,146,434. The company has a market capitalization of $50.03 billion, a PE ratio of 30.48, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.88. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $122.07 and a 12-month high of $161.24. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $149.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $148.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The business services provider reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.19. Paychex had a net margin of 29.75% and a return on equity of 45.01%. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.38 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.12 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be given a $1.08 dividend. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 94.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PAYX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Barclays set a $155.00 price target on shares of Paychex and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Paychex from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $150.00 to $148.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Paychex in a report on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $160.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Paychex presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $150.20.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.92, for a total value of $1,755,550.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 81,755 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,602,669.60. This represents a 13.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.17, for a total transaction of $14,157,849.42. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 446,917 shares in the company, valued at $64,878,940.89. This represents a 17.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.

Paychex Profile

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.