Paychex, Inc. $PAYX Stock Bought by Riverbridge Partners LLC

Riverbridge Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 37.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,766 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,692 shares during the quarter. Riverbridge Partners LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $2,045,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. XXEC Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Paychex during the 2nd quarter worth $1,123,016,000. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 2nd quarter worth about $2,728,970,000. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Paychex by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,411,341 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,417,067,000 after buying an additional 361,713 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Paychex in the 2nd quarter valued at about $434,061,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in Paychex by 13.5% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,344,056 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $215,934,000 after buying an additional 278,507 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX opened at $115.37 on Thursday. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $85.45 and a twelve month high of $127.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $111.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $103.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.07 billion, a PE ratio of 22.89, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.81.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.02. Paychex had a return on equity of 52.78% and a net margin of 27.35%. The firm had revenue of $1.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.63 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.22 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.896-6.006 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 26th will be paid a dividend of $1.19 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 26th. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is 94.44%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on PAYX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Paychex from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $105.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, October 16th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $112.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Paychex from $95.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $118.00 to $113.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Paychex has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $115.93.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In other news, Director Joseph Velli sold 7,839 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.68, for a total transaction of $844,103.52. Following the sale, the director owned 81,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,800,148. This represents a 8.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Paychex

Paychex, Inc. provides payroll, human resources and employee benefits solutions to businesses of varying sizes. Its services include payroll processing, tax administration, time and attendance tools, HR support, employee benefits, retirement services and business insurance. The company also offers professional employer organization services, which let businesses outsource certain employment responsibilities, as well as technology for workforce management, recruiting and compliance. Paychex primarily serves employers in the United States and supports businesses with international workforce needs.