Boston Trust Walden Corp Has $13.78 Million Stock Holdings in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Boston Trust Walden Corp decreased its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 3.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 149,629 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 6,134 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp’s holdings in Paychex were worth $13,784,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PAYX. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Paychex by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,348,625 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,750,669,000 after buying an additional 4,583,157 shares during the period. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 59.1% in 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. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,988,393 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,569,218,000 after purchasing an additional 216,045 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,550,173 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,295,698,000 after buying an additional 263,152 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Paychex by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,705,424 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,093,958,000 after buying an additional 78,760 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on PAYX shares. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Paychex in a report on Thursday, May 28th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Paychex to $52.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Stephens reduced their price target on Paychex from $125.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Paychex from $116.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Paychex from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $105.80.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX stock 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 stock’s fifty day moving average price is $96.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $98.76. 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 market cap of $38.10 billion, a PE ratio of 21.75 and a beta of 0.84.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 24th. The business services provider reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.01. The company 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%.Paychex’s revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.19 EPS. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.900-6.010 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 13th were paid a $1.19 dividend. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 13th. This is a positive change from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. Paychex’s payout ratio is currently 97.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Paychex news, Director Joseph M. Tucci sold 3,907 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.25, for a total transaction of $383,862.75. Following the sale, the director owned 67,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,618,513. The trade was a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.