Man Group plc Takes $406,000 Position in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Man Group plc purchased a new position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 4,131 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $406,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. XXEC Inc. bought a new position in Paychex in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,123,016,000. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,728,970,000. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of 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 period. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its stake in Paychex by 4,141.2% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,409,229 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $270,267,000 after purchasing an additional 2,352,423 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Paychex in the fourth quarter worth approximately $257,699,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Paychex news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 2,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.09, for a total transaction of $299,234.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 18,547 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,134,574.23. This represents a 12.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph M. Tucci sold 3,907 shares of Paychex 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 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on PAYX. UBS Group lifted their target price on Paychex from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Paychex from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Paychex from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. 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. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $107.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research report on Monday, July 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Paychex presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $111.00.

Paychex Trading Down 2.7%

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $121.71 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.89, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.82. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $85.45 and a 52 week high of $138.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $116.50 and a 200 day moving average of $101.96.

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. The company had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.60 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 50.90% and a net margin of 27.03%.The firm’s revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.19 earnings per share. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.900-6.010 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 28th were paid a dividend of $1.19 per share. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 28th. Paychex’s payout ratio is presently 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.