Amundi Sells 72,641 Shares of Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Amundi decreased its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 4.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,561,968 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 72,641 shares during the period. Amundi owned 0.44% of Paychex worth $153,588,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of PAYX. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Leonteq Securities AG grew its position in shares of Paychex by 2,669.2% in the 1st quarter. Leonteq Securities AG now owns 360 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 347 shares during the last quarter. Field & Main Bank acquired a new stake in Paychex in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Paychex in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Robert Schrader sold 2,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at $2,134,574.23. The trade was a 12.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Joseph Tucci sold 3,907 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 67,364 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,618,513. This trade represents a 5.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on PAYX shares. Stephens assumed coverage on Paychex in a research note on Friday, September 4th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $132.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating on shares of Paychex in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. UBS Group upped 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. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on Paychex from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $111.00.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX opened at $116.93 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.91, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.82. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $117.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $102.38. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $85.45 and a 12 month high of $135.97.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, June 24th. The business services provider reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.60 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 27.03% and a return on equity of 50.90%. The business's revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.19 EPS. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.900-6.010 EPS. Analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 28th were given a dividend of $1.19 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 28th. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 97.34%.

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.

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