Rathbones Group PLC Cuts Stock Position in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Rathbones Group PLC cut its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 4.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 193,784 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 8,673 shares during the period. Rathbones Group PLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $17,851,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Paychex by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,348,625 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,750,669,000 after purchasing an additional 4,583,157 shares in the last quarter. LBP AM SA lifted its position in Paychex by 125.2% during the fourth quarter. LBP AM SA now owns 40,517 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,545,000 after buying an additional 22,527 shares in the last quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC lifted its position in Paychex by 17.4% during the fourth quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 79,708 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,942,000 after buying an additional 11,805 shares in the last quarter. Danske Bank A S grew its holdings in Paychex by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Danske Bank A S now owns 205,341 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $23,035,000 after buying an additional 25,184 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Comerica Bank grew its holdings in Paychex by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 121,705 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $13,653,000 after buying an additional 11,497 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on PAYX. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $107.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Paychex from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Paychex from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $108.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 2,600 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction on Monday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.09, for a total value of $299,234.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $383,862.75. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 67,364 shares in the company, valued at $6,618,513. This represents a 5.48% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $117.67 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $104.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $98.57. 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 $141.89. The firm has a market cap of $41.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.06 and a beta of 0.81.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 24th. The business services provider reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.01. Paychex had a net margin of 27.03% and a return on equity of 50.90%. The firm had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.19 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.900-6.010 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

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 given a dividend of $1.19 per share. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 28th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.