Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI Grows Stake in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI lifted its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 4.5% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 13,060 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 567 shares during the period. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI’s holdings in Paychex were worth $1,900,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PAYX. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its position in Paychex by 118.5% during the first quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 136,876 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $21,117,000 after purchasing an additional 74,245 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Paychex by 32.6% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 119,291 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $18,404,000 after purchasing an additional 29,320 shares in the last quarter. Martin Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Paychex by 166.9% during the second quarter. Martin Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,340 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $922,000 after purchasing an additional 3,965 shares in the last quarter. MWA Asset Management lifted its position in Paychex by 6.5% during the first quarter. MWA Asset Management now owns 4,269 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $659,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position in Paychex during the first quarter valued at $832,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Paychex Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $125.55 on Friday. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $119.02 and a 12-month high of $161.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $133.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $143.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.92.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, September 30th. The business services provider reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.02. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.17% and a net margin of 27.85%.The firm had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.16 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.428-5.528 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 7th will be issued a $1.08 dividend. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 7th. Paychex’s payout ratio is 97.08%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.92, for a total value of $1,755,550.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 81,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,602,669.60. The trade was a 13.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen lowered their target price on Paychex from $140.00 to $126.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Weiss Ratings upgraded Paychex from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group set a $130.00 price objective on Paychex in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Paychex from $143.00 to $140.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on Paychex from $158.00 to $148.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Paychex presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $141.29.

About Paychex

Paychex, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides integrated human capital management solutions (HCM) for payroll, benefits, human resources (HR), and insurance services for small to medium-sized businesses in the United States, Europe, and India. It offers payroll processing services; payroll tax administration services; employee payment services; and regulatory compliance services, such as new-hire reporting and garnishment processing.