Fifth Third Bancorp Buys 127,503 Shares of Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 361.3% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 162,792 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 127,503 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Paychex were worth $14,996,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Van Cleef Asset Management Inc increased its position in Paychex by 10.3% in the first quarter. Van Cleef Asset Management Inc now owns 227,971 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $21,001,000 after buying an additional 21,330 shares during the last quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 76.1% during the 1st quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 4,118 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $379,000 after acquiring an additional 1,780 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Paychex by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 18,400 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,695,000 after acquiring an additional 453 shares during the last quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky increased its holdings in Paychex by 37.7% in the 1st quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 17,711 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,632,000 after acquiring an additional 4,845 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC raised its stake in Paychex by 18.6% in the 1st quarter. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC now owns 4,675 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $431,000 after acquiring an additional 732 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Joseph M. Tucci sold 3,907 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.25, for a total transaction of $383,862.75. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 67,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,618,513. This trade represents a 5.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price 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. 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 research note on Thursday, June 25th. Argus raised shares of Paychex to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Paychex from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. One 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Paychex currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $105.80.

Paychex Stock Performance

NASDAQ PAYX opened at $109.52 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $98.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $98.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $85.45 and a 1 year high of $148.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.24 billion, a PE ratio of 22.40 and a beta of 0.84.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 24th. The business services provider reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the previous year, the business earned $1.19 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.900-6.010 EPS. Analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th were issued a $1.19 dividend. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 13th. This is an increase from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. Paychex’s payout ratio is 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.