Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Grows Stake in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. increased its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 33.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 516,948 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 130,269 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. owned 0.14% of Paychex worth $47,621,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 12.1% in 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 acquiring an additional 4,583,157 shares during the last quarter. LBP AM SA raised its stake in Paychex by 125.2% in the 4th quarter. LBP AM SA now owns 40,517 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,545,000 after purchasing an additional 22,527 shares during the last quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Paychex by 17.4% in the 4th quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 79,708 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,942,000 after purchasing an additional 11,805 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank lifted its holdings in Paychex by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 121,705 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $13,653,000 after purchasing an additional 11,497 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Danske Bank A S boosted its stake in Paychex by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Danske Bank A S now owns 205,341 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $23,035,000 after purchasing an additional 25,184 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Paychex news, Director Joseph M. Tucci sold 3,907 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.25, for a total value of $383,862.75. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 67,364 shares in the company, valued at $6,618,513. The trade was a 5.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on PAYX shares. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Paychex from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Paychex from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Paychex in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $107.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research note on Monday, July 20th. One investment 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 given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $107.53.

Paychex Stock Up 2.6%

Shares of PAYX opened at $113.55 on Friday. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $85.45 and a 52-week high of $148.11. The company has a market capitalization of $40.39 billion, a PE ratio of 23.22 and a beta of 0.84. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $102.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $98.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 24th. The business services provider reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.19 EPS. The company’s 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. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 28th will be paid a dividend of $1.19 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 28th. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.2%. Paychex’s payout ratio is 97.34%.

Paychex Profile

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.