Paychex, Inc. $PAYX Position Boosted by Maryland State Retirement & Pension System

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 15,684 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 650 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Paychex were worth $2,281,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 0.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,807,843 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,907,314,000 after purchasing an additional 286,818 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Paychex by 7.3% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,782,173 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,663,474,000 after acquiring an additional 737,542 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Paychex by 3.8% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,989,182 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $769,731,000 after acquiring an additional 181,628 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Paychex by 0.7% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,135,296 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $637,993,000 after acquiring an additional 30,670 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Select Equity Group L.P. lifted its holdings in Paychex by 99.0% in the first quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 3,494,312 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $539,102,000 after acquiring an additional 1,738,372 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In related news, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.92, for a total transaction of $1,755,550.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 81,755 shares in the company, valued at $11,602,669.60. This trade represents a 13.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $125.55 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $133.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $143.73. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $119.02 and a 52 week high of $161.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.21, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 30th. The business services provider reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.02. Paychex had a net margin of 27.85% and a return on equity of 45.17%. The business had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.16 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.428-5.528 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Investors of record on Friday, November 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.08 per share. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 7th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 97.08%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Paychex from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday. Stephens raised shares of Paychex to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $126.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Paychex from $143.00 to $140.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Barclays set a $155.00 price target on shares of Paychex and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $141.29.

Paychex Company Profile

Paychex, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides integrated human capital management solutions (HCM) for payroll, benefits, human resources (HR), and insurance services for small to medium-sized businesses in the United States, Europe, and India. It offers payroll processing services; payroll tax administration services; employee payment services; and regulatory compliance services, such as new-hire reporting and garnishment processing.