Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec Raises Position in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Key Points

• Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec significantly increased its stake in Paychex, purchasing an additional 23,800 shares and boosting its holdings by 912.2%, now totaling 26,409 shares valued at approximately $4.07 million.
• Paychex declared a quarterly dividend of $1.08 to be paid on August 29, reflecting a 3.1% yield, while the company's current dividend payout ratio stands at 94.53%.
• Analysts' price targets for Paychex have been lowered, with the average target now at $149.70, indicating a generally cautious outlook on the stock with a prevalent "hold" rating.

Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 912.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 26,409 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 23,800 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec's holdings in Paychex were worth $4,074,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in PAYX. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex during the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. Tsfg LLC boosted its position in Paychex by 122.3% during the 1st quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 229 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the period. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in Paychex during the 1st quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. boosted its position in Paychex by 381.2% during the 4th quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 409 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 324 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Paychex Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of Paychex stock traded up $0.74 during trading on Monday, hitting $139.46. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,715,827 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,113,667. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.28. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $142.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $147.45. The company has a market capitalization of $50.24 billion, a PE ratio of 30.52, a P/E/G ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.91. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $128.92 and a 52 week high of $161.24.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The business services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.19. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.38 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 29.75% and a return on equity of 45.01%. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.12 EPS. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st were paid a $1.08 dividend. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 21st. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 94.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on PAYX shares. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Paychex from $156.00 to $152.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Paychex from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $165.00 target price on shares of Paychex and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Paychex in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $160.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Paychex from $150.00 to $148.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $149.70.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.92, for a total value of $1,755,550.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 81,755 shares in the company, valued at $11,602,669.60. This trade represents a 13.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.17, for a total transaction of $14,157,849.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 446,917 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $64,878,940.89. The trade was a 17.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 11.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Paychex Company 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.