Paychex, Inc. $PAYX Shares Acquired by South Dakota Investment Council

South Dakota Investment Council lifted its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 119.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 16,517 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 9,000 shares during the quarter. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Paychex were worth $1,522,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 12.1% during 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 purchasing an additional 4,583,157 shares during the period. LBP AM SA lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 125.2% during the fourth quarter. LBP AM SA now owns 40,517 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,545,000 after purchasing an additional 22,527 shares in the last quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 17.4% in the fourth quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 79,708 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,942,000 after purchasing an additional 11,805 shares during the period. Comerica Bank boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 121,705 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $13,653,000 after purchasing an additional 11,497 shares during the period. Finally, Danske Bank A S grew its holdings in Paychex by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Danske Bank A S now owns 205,341 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $23,035,000 after purchasing an additional 25,184 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on PAYX. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of Paychex in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. TD Cowen raised their target price on Paychex from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Weiss Ratings raised Paychex from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $107.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research note on Monday, July 20th. One 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 given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Paychex has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $108.20.

Paychex Stock Up 0.4%

PAYX stock opened at $116.84 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $104.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $98.61. The company has a market capitalization of $41.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.89 and a beta of 0.84. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $85.45 and a twelve month high of $146.83.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 24th. The business services provider reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.60 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.19 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.900-6.010 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 28th will be given a $1.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 28th. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. Paychex’s payout ratio is presently 97.34%.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In related news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 2,600 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.09, for a total value of $299,234.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,547 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,134,574.23. This trade represents a 12.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Joseph M. Tucci sold 3,907 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.25, for a total value of $383,862.75. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 67,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,618,513. This represents a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

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.