Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Has $260.04 Million Holdings in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP trimmed its Paychex stake by 2.1% in the first quarter, but still held 2.82 million shares valued at about $260 million.
• Paychex reported quarterly earnings of $1.32 per share, slightly above estimates, and revenue of $1.61 billion, up 12.5% year over year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.19 per share, implying a 4.3% yield; meanwhile, analysts currently rate the stock a consensus “Hold” with an average target price of $107.53.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP decreased its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 2.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,822,569 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 59,646 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 0.79% of Paychex worth $260,042,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in Paychex by 16.2% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 8,674 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $799,000 after purchasing an additional 1,207 shares in the last quarter. Decker Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Paychex in the first quarter valued at $407,000. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 2.9% in the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 70,811 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $6,523,000 after buying an additional 2,007 shares in the last quarter. SEB Asset Management AB acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the first quarter valued at about $12,278,000. Finally, Swiss National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 6.8% during the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 948,100 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $87,339,000 after buying an additional 60,500 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on PAYX shares. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating on shares of Paychex in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Argus upgraded Paychex to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley lifted 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. UBS Group increased their price objective on Paychex from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Paychex from $116.00 to $95.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $107.53.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In other Paychex news, Director Joseph M. Tucci sold 3,907 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The shares were 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 $6,618,513. This trade represents a 5.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Paychex Stock Performance

NASDAQ PAYX opened at $110.74 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $101.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $98.28. The firm has a market cap of $39.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.65 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $85.45 and a 1 year high of $148.11.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 24th. The business services provider reported $1.32 earnings per share 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 last year, the firm earned $1.19 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.900-6.010 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.3%. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 97.34%.

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.

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