Federated Hermes Inc. Has $217.94 Million Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Federated Hermes Inc. decreased its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 6.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,554,288 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 113,258 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. owned 0.43% of Paychex worth $217,942,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Paychex by 220.7% in the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 186 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Avion Wealth boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 469.8% during the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 245 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PAYX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays raised their price objective on Paychex from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Paychex from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Cfra Research upgraded Paychex to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $148.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $145.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $141.00.

Paychex Trading Down 6.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $143.32 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.62 billion, a PE ratio of 30.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.98. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $148.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $143.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.39. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $115.40 and a one year high of $158.37.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.01. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.28% and a net margin of 32.02%. The firm had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.38 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 81.67%.

Paychex Company 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.