Hsbc Holdings PLC Takes Position in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 814,857 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $80,083,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 957.1% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 296 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 268 shares during the period. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. bought a new position in Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Wealth Watch Advisors INC acquired a new stake in Paychex during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PAYX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Paychex from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $107.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Paychex from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. One research 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Paychex currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $109.20.

Paychex Trading Down 0.1%

PAYX opened at $124.88 on Thursday. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $85.45 and a twelve month high of $139.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The company has a fifty day moving average of $112.62 and a 200-day moving average of $100.57. The stock has a market cap of $44.42 billion, a PE ratio of 25.54 and a beta of 0.81.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its 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. The business had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.60 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 27.03% and a return on equity of 50.90%. Paychex’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.19 earnings per share. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.900-6.010 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 3.8%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 97.34%.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In related news, Director Joseph M. Tucci sold 3,907 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $6,618,513. This trade represents a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 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 value of $299,234.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 18,547 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,134,574.23. The trade was a 12.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.