Osmosis Investment Management UK Ltd Invests $1.76 Million in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Osmosis Investment Management UK Ltd bought a new position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 17,936 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,764,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. XXEC Inc. acquired a new stake in Paychex in the second quarter valued at $1,123,016,000. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the 2nd quarter worth about $2,728,970,000. Capital International Investors boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 59.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 30,265,174 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,395,583,000 after acquiring an additional 11,243,295 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 4,583,157 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 2,352,423 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 2,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.09, for a total transaction of $299,234.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph M. Tucci sold 3,907 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the director directly owned 67,364 shares in the company, valued at $6,618,513. The trade was a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PAYX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Paychex from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Paychex from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Paychex from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Paychex from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Paychex in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. One research 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $109.20.

Paychex Stock Up 1.2%

Paychex stock opened at $126.01 on Tuesday. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $85.45 and a fifty-two week high of $140.56. 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 company has a market capitalization of $44.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.77 and a beta of 0.81. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $111.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $100.20.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.60 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 50.90% and a net margin of 27.03%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.19 EPS. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.900-6.010 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 28th will be given a dividend of $1.19 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 28th. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.