Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Has $79.19 Million Stake in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lessened its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 5.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 859,680 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 46,723 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned about 0.24% of Paychex worth $79,194,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position 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 worth $4,750,669,000 after purchasing an additional 4,583,157 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings 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 in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Paychex by 1.6% during 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 in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,550,173 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,295,698,000 after purchasing an additional 263,152 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 78,760 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Key Stories Impacting Paychex

Here are the key news stories impacting Paychex this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research lifted multiple earnings estimates for Paychex (PAYX), including FY2027 and FY2029, signaling improved profit expectations and a potentially supportive outlook for the stock.
• Positive Sentiment: Paychex was highlighted among the Nasdaq 100’s highest-yielding stocks, which may attract income-focused investors looking for defensive dividend names.
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data showed no reported short interest, so there is no clear evidence of a meaningful bearish positioning shift in the shares.
• Negative Sentiment: A separate article said Paychex (PAYX) could be as much as 38% below fair value after removal from the Russell Growth Index, suggesting the recent move may be partly tied to index-related repricing and raising valuation concerns. Article Title

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of Paychex stock traded up $1.28 during trading on Friday, reaching $107.54. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,179,668 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,609,491. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $98.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $98.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.99 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $85.45 and a one year high of $148.11.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 24th. The business services provider reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.01. Paychex had a net margin of 27.03% and a return on equity of 50.90%. The firm had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.19 EPS. The company’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. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 13th were issued a $1.19 dividend. This is an increase from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 13th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 97.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on PAYX. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Paychex from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Paychex from $100.00 to $98.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Paychex from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Guggenheim began coverage on shares of Paychex in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Paychex from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $105.80.

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.