IFM Investors Pty Ltd Raises Position in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

IFM Investors Pty Ltd grew its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 7.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 68,319 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,825 shares during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd’s holdings in Paychex were worth $6,294,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,348,625 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,750,669,000 after buying an additional 4,583,157 shares during the period. LBP AM SA grew its holdings in Paychex by 125.2% during the 4th quarter. LBP AM SA now owns 40,517 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,545,000 after acquiring an additional 22,527 shares in the last quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Paychex by 17.4% in the 4th quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 79,708 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,942,000 after purchasing an additional 11,805 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank increased its position in shares of Paychex by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 121,705 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $13,653,000 after purchasing an additional 11,497 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Danske Bank A S raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Danske Bank A S now owns 205,341 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $23,035,000 after purchasing an additional 25,184 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Up 3.5%

PAYX opened at $106.35 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $96.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $98.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $85.45 and a one year high of $148.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.75 and a beta of 0.84.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, June 24th. The business services provider reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.60 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 50.90% and a net margin of 27.03%.The business’s revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.19 EPS. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.900-6.010 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.97 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th were given a dividend of $1.19 per share. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.5%. This is a boost from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 13th. Paychex’s payout ratio is 97.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PAYX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Stephens decreased their price target on Paychex from $125.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Paychex from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Paychex from $100.00 to $98.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on Paychex from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $105.80.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Joseph M. Tucci sold 3,907 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.25, for a total value of $383,862.75. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 67,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,618,513. The trade was a 5.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

About Paychex

Paychex, Inc, founded in 1971 by B. Thomas “Tom” Golisano and headquartered in Rochester, New York, is a provider of payroll, human resources, and benefits outsourcing solutions for small- and medium-sized businesses. The company’s core services include payroll processing and tax filing, employee benefits administration, retirement services, and workers’ compensation administration, designed to simplify back-office operations and help clients comply with regulatory and tax requirements.

Paychex offers an integrated technology platform, marketed under the Paychex Flex brand, which delivers cloud-based payroll, HR, time and attendance, and reporting tools.