Paychex, Inc. $PAYX Holdings Boosted by Renaissance Technologies LLC

Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 6.6% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,166,201 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 72,000 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $107,430,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Paychex by 26.3% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,710 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $801,000 after buying an additional 1,190 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Paychex by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 4,035 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $566,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP bought a new stake in Paychex in the first quarter valued at $3,333,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 3.2% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 41,081 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,976,000 after acquiring an additional 1,290 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 47.1% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 156,680 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $22,790,000 after acquiring an additional 50,169 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on PAYX. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “underweight” rating and set a $107.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Paychex from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $99.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Paychex from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Paychex from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company 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 given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Paychex has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $107.53.

Paychex Trading Up 2.6%

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $113.55 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $40.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.22 and a beta of 0.84. 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 1 year low of $85.45 and a 1 year high of $148.11. The business has a fifty day moving average of $102.13 and a 200-day moving average of $98.40.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 24th. The business services provider reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.60 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 27.03% and a return on equity of 50.90%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.19 earnings per share. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.900-6.010 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 28th will be paid a $1.19 dividend. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 28th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 97.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In other news, Director Joseph M. Tucci sold 3,907 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 67,364 shares in the company, valued at $6,618,513. This trade represents a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Profile

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.