USS Investment Management Ltd Purchases 5,349 Shares of Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

USS Investment Management Ltd boosted its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 9.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 63,290 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,349 shares during the quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Paychex were worth $5,827,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Paychex during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its position 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 worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. Stance Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex in the third quarter worth $31,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Paychex during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Kingdom Financial Group LLC. acquired a new position in Paychex during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PAYX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Paychex from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Stephens reduced their price objective on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Paychex to $52.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Paychex from $148.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on Paychex from $100.00 to $98.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. One investment 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $105.80.

Paychex Price Performance

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $106.35 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.10 billion, a PE ratio of 21.75 and a beta of 0.84. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $85.45 and a 1-year high of $148.11. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $96.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $98.71. 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 (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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.01. The firm 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%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.19 earnings per share. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.900-6.010 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th were paid a dividend of $1.19 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 13th. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.5%. This is a boost from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 97.34%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Joseph M. Tucci sold 3,907 shares of the company’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 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

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.