Wealthfront Advisers LLC Increases Position in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Wealthfront Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 245.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 87,924 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 62,437 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $8,100,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PAYX. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Paychex by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,348,625 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,750,669,000 after acquiring an additional 4,583,157 shares during the period. Capital International Investors raised its stake in Paychex by 59.1% during 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 during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in Paychex by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,988,393 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,569,218,000 after acquiring an additional 216,045 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Paychex by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,550,173 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,295,698,000 after acquiring an additional 263,152 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,705,424 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,093,958,000 after purchasing an additional 78,760 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $114.39 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $40.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.39 and a beta of 0.84. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $100.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $98.39. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $85.45 and a 12-month high of $148.11. 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 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.60 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.19 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.900-6.010 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 28th will be issued a $1.19 dividend. 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 4.2%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 97.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Paychex news, Director Joseph M. Tucci sold 3,907 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.25, for a total transaction of $383,862.75. Following the sale, the director directly owned 67,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,618,513. The trade was a 5.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Paychex from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Paychex in a report on Friday, April 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Paychex in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Paychex to $52.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Paychex has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $105.80.

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.