Groupe la Francaise Buys 7,991 Shares of Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Groupe la Francaise lifted its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 24.8% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 40,235 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 7,991 shares during the period. Groupe la Francaise’s holdings in Paychex were worth $3,706,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. 44 Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,290 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $479,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 3.5% in the second quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,645 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $381,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust increased its holdings in Paychex by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 5,834 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $654,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC increased its holdings in Paychex by 1.4% during the third quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 7,270 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $922,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its position in Paychex by 14.5% during the fourth quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 798 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $90,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Up 0.4%

PAYX stock opened at $116.84 on Friday. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $85.45 and a fifty-two week high of $146.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.89 and a beta of 0.84. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $104.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $98.61.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 24th. The business services provider reported $1.32 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 the consensus estimate of $1.60 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 27.03% and a return on equity of 50.90%. Paychex’s revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.19 earnings per share. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.900-6.010 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Paychex news, Director Joseph M. Tucci sold 3,907 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director directly owned 67,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,618,513. The trade was a 5.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 2,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.09, for a total value of $299,234.00. Following 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 company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PAYX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Paychex from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Paychex from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Citigroup raised their price target on Paychex from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Paychex in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $108.20.

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.