Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan Acquires 5,581 Shares of Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan increased its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 102,577 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,581 shares during the period. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan’s holdings in Paychex were worth $10,086,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Paychex Trading Up 0.4%

NASDAQ PAYX opened at $127.04 on Friday. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $85.45 and a 12 month high of $139.53. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $113.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $100.95. 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 company has a market capitalization of $45.19 billion, a PE ratio of 25.98 and a beta of 0.81.

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

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 28th were given a dividend of $1.19 per share. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 28th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 97.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup boosted their target price on Paychex from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Paychex from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $107.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Paychex from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. One equities 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 given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $109.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In other news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 2,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 18,547 shares in the company, valued at $2,134,574.23. This represents a 12.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph M. Tucci sold 3,907 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The stock was 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. This represents a 5.48% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.