Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Buys New Stake in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Key Points

• Meiji Yasuda Asset Management initiated a Paychex position by purchasing 8,389 shares valued at approximately $825,000. Institutional investors collectively own 83.47% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a broadly neutral outlook, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $109.20, below the stock’s reported $124.99 opening price.
• Paychex exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $1.32 in adjusted earnings per share and $1.61 billion in revenue, while declaring a $1.19 quarterly dividend—a 3.8% annualized yield.

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 8,389 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $825,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. XXEC Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the second quarter worth about $1,123,016,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Paychex by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,348,625 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,750,669,000 after acquiring an additional 4,583,157 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in Paychex by 59.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 30,265,174 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,395,583,000 after acquiring an additional 11,243,295 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Paychex in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,728,970,000. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its position in Paychex by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,988,393 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,569,218,000 after purchasing an additional 216,045 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In related news, Director Joseph M. Tucci sold 3,907 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $6,618,513. This trade represents a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 2,600 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction on Monday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.09, for a total value of $299,234.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 18,547 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,134,574.23. This represents a 12.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PAYX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Paychex from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Paychex from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Paychex from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $109.20.

Paychex Price Performance

Paychex stock opened at $124.99 on Wednesday. The company's fifty day moving average price is $112.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $100.38. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $85.45 and a 1 year high of $139.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.56 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.01. The company 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.19 earnings per share. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.900-6.010 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 28th will be given a $1.19 dividend. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 28th. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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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