7,442 Shares in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX Purchased by OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd

OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 7,442 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $732,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PAYX. Vanguard Group Inc. increased 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 buying an additional 4,583,157 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 11,243,295 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Paychex during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,728,970,000. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,988,393 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,569,218,000 after buying an additional 216,045 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Paychex by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,550,173 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,295,698,000 after acquiring an additional 263,152 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In other Paychex news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 2,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 20th. The shares were 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 owned 18,547 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,134,574.23. This represents a 12.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph M. Tucci sold 3,907 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on PAYX. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Paychex from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Paychex from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $107.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research note on Monday, July 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $109.20.

Paychex Stock Up 1.3%

NASDAQ PAYX opened at $124.47 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $111.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $100.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26. The company has a market cap of $44.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.45 and a beta of 0.81. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $85.45 and a one year high of $141.19.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its 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. Paychex had a net margin of 27.03% and a return on equity of 50.90%. The company had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous 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. Research analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm 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 is Tuesday, July 28th. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. Paychex’s payout ratio is presently 97.34%.

Paychex 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.