Paychex, Inc. $PAYX Shares Purchased by Raiffeisen Bank International AG

Raiffeisen Bank International AG boosted its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 157,983 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,537 shares during the quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG’s holdings in Paychex were worth $15,557,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. XXEC Inc. bought a new position in shares of Paychex during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,123,016,000. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Paychex in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,728,970,000. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 59.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 30,265,174 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,395,583,000 after purchasing an additional 11,243,295 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $434,061,000. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in Paychex by 4,141.2% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,409,229 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $270,267,000 after purchasing an additional 2,352,423 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In other Paychex news, Director Joseph 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 transaction of $383,862.75. Following the sale, the director directly owned 67,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,618,513. The trade was a 5.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Robert Schrader sold 2,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,134,574.23. The trade was a 12.29% 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PAYX has been the subject of a number of research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “underweight” rating and set a $107.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a report on Monday, July 20th. Weiss Ratings raised Paychex from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Paychex from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Paychex from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Paychex from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. One 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $109.20.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX opened at $125.08 on Friday. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $85.45 and a one year high of $138.19. The company has a 50-day moving average of $116.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $101.83. The stock has a market cap of $44.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.58, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, June 24th. The business services provider reported $1.32 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.60 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.19 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.900-6.010 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 28th were given a dividend of $1.19 per share. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 28th. Paychex’s payout ratio is presently 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.