Paychex, Inc. $PAYX Shares Bought by IFM Investors Pty Ltd

IFM Investors Pty Ltd lifted its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 7.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 68,319 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,825 shares during the quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd’s holdings in Paychex were worth $6,294,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PAYX. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 59.1% in the 4th 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 period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Paychex by 12.1% in 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 acquiring an additional 4,583,157 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 4,141.2% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,409,229 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $270,267,000 after acquiring an additional 2,352,423 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at about $257,699,000. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Paychex during the third quarter worth approximately $117,809,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Paychex Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $106.35 on Friday. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $85.45 and a fifty-two week high of $148.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $96.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $98.71. 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. Paychex had a return on equity of 50.90% and a net margin of 27.03%.The company had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.19 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.900-6.010 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.97 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

PAYX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Paychex from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Paychex from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Argus upgraded Paychex to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Guggenheim began coverage on shares of Paychex in a report on Thursday, March 19th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Paychex from $148.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 26th. 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 issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $105.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Paychex news, Director Joseph M. Tucci sold 3,907 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $6,618,513. The trade was a 5.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Paychex Company 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.