Meeder Advisory Services Inc. Invests $2.37 Million in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 24,136 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,373,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Paychex in the second quarter valued at about $2,728,970,000. Capital International Investors raised its position in Paychex by 59.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 30,265,174 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,395,583,000 after acquiring an additional 11,243,295 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Paychex by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,348,625 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,750,669,000 after buying an additional 4,583,157 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 4,141.2% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,409,229 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $270,267,000 after acquiring an additional 2,352,423 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter worth approximately $257,699,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Paychex from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Paychex from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. UBS Group upped their target price on Paychex from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Paychex from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $109.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 2,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 20th. The stock was 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 directly owned 18,547 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,134,574.23. The trade was a 12.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph M. 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 owned 67,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,618,513. The trade was a 5.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Paychex Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of PAYX opened at $119.93 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $109.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $99.56. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $85.45 and a twelve month high of $141.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.53 and a beta of 0.81.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 24th. The business services provider reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.60 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 27.03% and a return on equity of 50.90%. Paychex’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.19 earnings per share. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.900-6.010 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 28th will be given a $1.19 dividend. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 28th. Paychex’s dividend 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.