Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. Invests $1.95 Million in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Key Points

• Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking disclosed a new first-quarter stake in Paychex, buying 21,114 shares worth about $1.95 million.
• Paychex reported quarterly EPS of $1.32, edging past analyst estimates, while revenue reached $1.61 billion, also slightly ahead of expectations and up 12.5% year over year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $1.19 per share, implying an annualized yield of about 4.5%; however, its payout ratio is high at 97.34%.

Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. acquired a new stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 21,114 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,945,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,348,625 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,750,669,000 after purchasing an additional 4,583,157 shares during the period. LBP AM SA grew its position in shares of Paychex by 125.2% in the fourth quarter. LBP AM SA now owns 40,517 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,545,000 after purchasing an additional 22,527 shares during the period. Tectonic Advisors LLC increased its stake in Paychex by 17.4% in the fourth quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 79,708 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $8,942,000 after purchasing an additional 11,805 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank lifted its position in Paychex by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 121,705 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $13,653,000 after buying an additional 11,497 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Paychex by 38.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,856,157 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $235,286,000 after buying an additional 511,728 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Paychex Price Performance

NASDAQ PAYX opened at $106.35 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $38.10 billion, a PE ratio of 21.75 and a beta of 0.84. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $85.45 and a fifty-two week high of $148.11. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $96.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $98.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 24th. The business services provider reported $1.32 earnings per share (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 quarter last year, the firm posted $1.19 earnings per share. The business'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. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 13th were paid a dividend of $1.19 per share. This is a positive change from Paychex's previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 13th. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.5%. Paychex's payout ratio is presently 97.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Paychex news, Director Joseph M. Tucci sold 3,907 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at $6,618,513. This represents a 5.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on PAYX. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Paychex from $148.00 to $125.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Argus upgraded shares of Paychex to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Paychex from $116.00 to $95.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Stephens cut their price target on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $105.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $105.80.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.