Amundi Increases Holdings in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Amundi lifted its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 1.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,634,609 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 28,844 shares during the quarter. Amundi’s holdings in Paychex were worth $150,580,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Paychex by 82.0% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,929 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $546,000 after acquiring an additional 2,671 shares during the last quarter. Empire Financial Management Company LLC boosted its stake in Paychex by 9.2% during the 1st quarter. Empire Financial Management Company LLC now owns 17,315 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,595,000 after purchasing an additional 1,454 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in Paychex by 199.4% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 137,328 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $12,651,000 after buying an additional 91,459 shares during the last quarter. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. purchased a new stake in Paychex during the first quarter valued at $1,760,000. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its position in shares of Paychex by 126.1% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 388,686 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $35,806,000 after acquiring an additional 216,781 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PAYX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Paychex in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. UBS Group increased their target price 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. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Paychex from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Paychex from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Paychex from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. One research 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 given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $108.20.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In other news, Director Joseph M. Tucci sold 3,907 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director owned 67,364 shares in the company, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 2,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.09, for a total transaction 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of Paychex stock opened at $116.84 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $41.56 billion, a PE ratio of 23.89 and a beta of 0.84. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $104.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $98.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $85.45 and a one year high of $146.83.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 24th. The business services provider reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.60 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 50.90% and a net margin of 27.03%.The firm’s quarterly 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 research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

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

About Paychex

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.