Wealthfront Advisers LLC Purchases New Shares in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 117,236 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $11,528,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in PAYX. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Paychex during the 2nd quarter worth about $2,728,970,000. Capital International Investors increased its position in Paychex by 59.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 30,265,174 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,395,583,000 after acquiring an additional 11,243,295 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 4,583,157 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 4,141.2% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,409,229 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $270,267,000 after acquiring an additional 2,352,423 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter worth approximately $257,699,000. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In other news, Director Joseph M. Tucci sold 3,907 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The stock was 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 $6,618,513. This represents a 5.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 2,600 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.09, for a total transaction of $299,234.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,547 shares in the company, valued at $2,134,574.23. The trade was a 12.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on PAYX shares. Citigroup lifted their target price on Paychex from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $107.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a report on Monday, July 20th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Paychex from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Paychex from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Paychex from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. One 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 issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $109.20.

Paychex Stock Up 2.1%

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $122.50 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $85.45 and a 12-month high of $141.19. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $110.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $99.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.05 and a beta of 0.81.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 24th. The business services provider reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.60 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.19 earnings per share. The firm’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. Equities research analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 earnings per share for the current 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 dividend of $1.19 per share. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 28th. Paychex’s payout ratio is presently 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.