Westpac Banking Corp Buys Shares of 14,295 Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Westpac Banking Corp bought a new position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 14,295 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,406,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its holdings in Paychex by 957.1% in the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 296 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. acquired a new position in Paychex in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Wealth Watch Advisors INC bought a new position in Paychex in the third quarter valued at about $42,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings raised Paychex from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Paychex from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Paychex from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Paychex from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $109.20.

Paychex Stock Up 1.3%

Paychex stock opened at $124.47 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $44.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.45 and a beta of 0.81. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $85.45 and a 52-week high of $141.19. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average price of $111.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $100.01.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.60 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.19 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.900-6.010 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 28th will be given a dividend of $1.19 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 28th. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is 97.34%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Paychex news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 2,600 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.09, for a total value of $299,234.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,547 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,134,574.23. The trade was 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 the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 67,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,618,513. This trade represents a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

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.