Legal & General Group Plc Acquires 30,747 Shares of Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,571,584 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 30,747 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.71% of Paychex worth $374,063,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 83.8% in the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 215 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Paychex in the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Nova Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Paychex in the first quarter valued at approximately $38,000. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC increased its position in Paychex by 40.6% during the 2nd quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 263 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Paychex by 94.0% during the 2nd quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 293 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Paychex Stock Up 2.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $111.46 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.27. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $108.00 and a 52-week high of $161.24. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $122.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $137.74. The firm has a market cap of $40.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.05, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.93.

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

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 7th will be given a dividend of $1.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 7th. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. Paychex’s payout ratio is presently 97.08%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PAYX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Paychex in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $139.00 price objective on the stock. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Paychex from $153.00 to $148.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Paychex from $142.00 to $137.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Argus dropped their price objective on Paychex from $170.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on Paychex from $140.00 to $132.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $139.87.

Paychex Company Profile

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.