E Fund Management Co. Ltd. Makes New Investment in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

E Fund Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 13,594 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,337,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Paychex in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,728,970,000. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in Paychex by 59.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 30,265,174 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,395,583,000 after purchasing an additional 11,243,295 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its holdings in Paychex by 4,141.2% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,409,229 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $270,267,000 after buying an additional 2,352,423 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Paychex in the fourth quarter worth approximately $257,699,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Paychex news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 2,600 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction on Monday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.09, for a total transaction of $299,234.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,547 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,134,574.23. The trade was a 12.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph M. Tucci sold 3,907 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.25, for a total value of $383,862.75. Following the sale, the director owned 67,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,618,513. This represents a 5.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Paychex Stock Performance

Paychex stock opened at $122.50 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.05 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $110.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $99.70. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $85.45 and a 52-week high of $141.19.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.60 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 27.03% and a return on equity of 50.90%. Paychex’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.19 earnings per share. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.900-6.010 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 28th will be given a dividend of $1.19 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 28th. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is 97.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Paychex from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of Paychex in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Paychex from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “underweight” rating and set a $107.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Paychex from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. 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 given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Paychex presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $109.20.

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.