Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec Purchases 8,353 Shares of Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Key Points

• The Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec increased its stake in Paychex, Inc. by 89.7%, owning 17,666 shares valued at approximately $2.73 million at the end of the reporting period.
• Paychex reported $1.19 earnings per share for the recent quarter, meeting analysts' expectations, with revenues reaching $1.43 billion.
• Paychex announced a quarterly dividend of $1.08 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $4.32 and a yield of 3.2%.

Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec grew its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 89.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,666 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 8,353 shares during the quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec's holdings in Paychex were worth $2,726,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Paychex by 10.3% during the 1st quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 38,265 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $5,904,000 after purchasing an additional 3,566 shares in the last quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. increased its holdings in Paychex by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 133,716 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $20,630,000 after purchasing an additional 1,259 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Paychex during the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. Twin Tree Management LP increased its holdings in Paychex by 33.7% during the 1st quarter. Twin Tree Management LP now owns 15,647 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,414,000 after purchasing an additional 3,947 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connecticut Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Paychex during the 1st quarter worth approximately $229,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on PAYX. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $165.00 price objective on Paychex and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $140.00 target price on Paychex and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Paychex from $150.00 to $148.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Barclays set a $155.00 target price on Paychex and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on Paychex from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Paychex currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $149.70.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In other news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.17, for a total value of $14,157,849.42. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 446,917 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $64,878,940.89. This represents a 17.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.92, for a total transaction 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 approximately $11,602,669.60. The trade was a 13.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Paychex Stock Performance

PAYX stock traded down $1.82 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $132.60. 900,049 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,132,856. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $141.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $146.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.28. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $129.20 and a 52 week high of $161.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.68 billion, a PE ratio of 29.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.91.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The business services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.38 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 29.75% and a return on equity of 45.01%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.12 EPS. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st were issued a $1.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 21st. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Paychex's dividend payout ratio is presently 94.53%.

About Paychex

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.