Paychex, Inc. $PAYX Shares Purchased by Investment Management Corp of Ontario

Investment Management Corp of Ontario boosted its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 31.4% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 56,086 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 13,396 shares during the quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario’s holdings in Paychex were worth $8,158,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 1.3% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,215,957 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,686,133,000 after acquiring an additional 408,114 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Paychex by 2.6% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,066,067 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,046,050,000 after purchasing an additional 355,294 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Paychex by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,033,312 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,604,906,000 after purchasing an additional 251,139 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Paychex by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,183,871 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,481,053,000 after purchasing an additional 274,947 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Paychex by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,989,182 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $769,731,000 after purchasing an additional 181,628 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PAYX has been the subject of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $121.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Paychex in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $139.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $132.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Paychex from $142.00 to $137.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Paychex from $130.00 to $118.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Sunday. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $133.53.

Paychex Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $112.74 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.33 and a beta of 0.91. The company’s 50-day moving average is $117.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $134.05. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $108.00 and a 1-year high of $161.24.

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

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 7th were given a $1.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 7th. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. Paychex’s payout ratio is currently 97.08%.

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.