BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. Purchases 181,550 Shares of Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. boosted its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 39.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 641,928 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 181,550 shares during the quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. owned 0.18% of Paychex worth $93,375,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its position in Paychex by 83.8% during the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 215 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Paychex during the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. Nova Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Paychex during the 1st quarter worth about $38,000. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC lifted its position in Paychex by 40.6% during the 2nd quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 263 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its position in Paychex by 94.0% during the 2nd quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 293 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $115.14 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $128.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $140.81. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $113.15 and a 12-month high of $161.24. The firm has a market cap of $41.44 billion, a PE ratio of 25.87, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, September 30th. The business services provider reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.02. Paychex had a net margin of 27.85% and a return on equity of 45.17%. The firm had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.16 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.428-5.528 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.08 per share. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 7th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is 97.08%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Argus cut their price target on shares of Paychex from $170.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Paychex in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $139.00 price target on the stock. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $126.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Stephens upgraded shares of Paychex to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Paychex from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $139.87.

Paychex Profile

Paychex, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides integrated human capital management solutions (HCM) for payroll, benefits, human resources (HR), and insurance services for small to medium-sized businesses in the United States, Europe, and India. It offers payroll processing services; payroll tax administration services; employee payment services; and regulatory compliance services, such as new-hire reporting and garnishment processing.