QRG Capital Management Inc. Reduces Holdings in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

QRG Capital Management Inc. reduced its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 35.3% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 30,066 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 16,434 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $2,770,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Capital International Investors grew its stake in Paychex by 59.1% during 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 purchasing an additional 11,243,295 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Paychex by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,348,625 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,750,669,000 after purchasing an additional 4,583,157 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 2,352,423 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $257,699,000. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex during the third quarter worth approximately $117,809,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on PAYX. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Paychex from $148.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $116.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Guggenheim started coverage on shares of Paychex in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Paychex from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. One 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, Paychex currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $105.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Joseph M. Tucci sold 3,907 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $6,618,513. This represents a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Paychex Stock Performance

Paychex stock traded up $4.12 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $109.52. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 332,115 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,741,192. The firm has a market cap of $39.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.40 and a beta of 0.84. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $96.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $98.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $85.45 and a twelve month high of $148.11.

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, 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.19 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.900-6.010 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 13th were given a dividend of $1.19 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 13th. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.3%. This is a boost from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. Paychex’s payout ratio is currently 97.34%.

Paychex Company 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.