Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI Acquires 7,580 Shares of Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI increased its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 36.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,506 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,580 shares during the period. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI’s holdings in Paychex were worth $2,626,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 26.3% in 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 in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 4,035 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $566,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new stake in Paychex in the 1st quarter valued at $3,333,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Paychex by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 41,081 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,976,000 after buying an additional 1,290 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its position in Paychex by 47.1% in 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. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Paychex news, Director Joseph M. Tucci sold 3,907 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 $6,618,513. This represents a 5.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on PAYX. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Paychex from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Paychex from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday. Stephens lowered their target price on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 26th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Paychex from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Paychex to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. One investment 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 issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $106.40.

Paychex Trading Down 2.8%

Shares of PAYX opened at $111.96 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $100.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $98.29. 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 52-week low of $85.45 and a 52-week high of $148.11. The company has a market cap of $39.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.90 and a beta of 0.84.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. 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 firm earned $1.19 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.900-6.010 EPS. Analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 28th will be given a dividend of $1.19 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 28th. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.3%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is 97.34%.

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.