Paychex, Inc. $PAYX Shares Sold by South Dakota Investment Council

South Dakota Investment Council decreased its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 16.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,017 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,600 shares during the quarter. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Paychex were worth $1,166,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of PAYX. Select Equity Group L.P. grew its position in Paychex by 99.0% in the first quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 3,494,312 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $539,102,000 after acquiring an additional 1,738,372 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex in the first quarter valued at approximately $134,192,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Paychex by 7.3% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,782,173 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,663,474,000 after acquiring an additional 737,542 shares in the last quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 117.6% during the 1st quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 1,217,092 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $187,512,000 after buying an additional 657,871 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 25.7% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,844,949 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $438,919,000 after buying an additional 581,410 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX opened at $115.11 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $129.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $141.02. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $113.47 and a 12-month high of $161.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.43 billion, a PE ratio of 25.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.27.

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

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 7th will be paid a $1.08 dividend. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 7th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 97.08%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PAYX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Paychex from $143.00 to $140.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Paychex from $153.00 to $148.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Paychex to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Paychex from $132.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Stephens upgraded Paychex to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $139.87.

Paychex 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.