USS Investment Management Ltd Acquires 5,349 Shares of Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

USS Investment Management Ltd grew its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 9.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 63,290 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,349 shares during the quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Paychex were worth $5,827,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in Paychex by 59.1% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Paychex by 12.1% during 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 buying an additional 4,583,157 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its position 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 worth $270,267,000 after buying an additional 2,352,423 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter worth about $257,699,000. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 3rd quarter valued at about $117,809,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PAYX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Paychex from $100.00 to $98.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Paychex from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Paychex from $116.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Stephens decreased their price target on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $105.80.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of PAYX opened at $106.35 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $96.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $98.71. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $85.45 and a 52-week high of $148.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.10 billion, a PE ratio of 21.75 and a beta of 0.84.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.01. Paychex had a return on equity of 50.90% and a net margin of 27.03%.The business had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.60 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.19 EPS. Paychex’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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th were given a dividend of $1.19 per share. This is a positive change from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 13th. Paychex’s payout ratio is currently 97.34%.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In related news, Director Joseph M. Tucci sold 3,907 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.25, for a total value of $383,862.75. Following the sale, the director directly owned 67,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,618,513. The trade was a 5.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.80% of the stock is currently 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.