Paychex, Inc. $PAYX Shares Bought by Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super

Key Points

• Aware Super increased its Paychex stake by 22.5% in the third quarter, adding 28,830 shares to bring its holdings to 157,228 shares, valued at about $15.5 million.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly neutral: Paychex has a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $127.88, with 13 of 18 analysts rating it Hold.
• Paychex reported quarterly earnings of $1.34 per share, slightly ahead of estimates, while revenue rose 5.9% year over year. It declared a quarterly dividend of $1.19 per share, equivalent to a 4.1% yield at the cited share price.

Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super raised its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 22.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 157,228 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 28,830 shares during the quarter. Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super's holdings in Paychex were worth $15,487,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in PAYX. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its position in Paychex by 6.3% during the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,519 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $149,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Seelaus Asset Management LLC increased its position in Paychex by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 5,464 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $503,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the period. United Community Bank increased its position in Paychex by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. United Community Bank now owns 3,635 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $357,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC increased its position in Paychex by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC now owns 2,678 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $247,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. Finally, Elevation Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 45.5% during the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 400 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on PAYX. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, October 16th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $118.00 to $113.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $95.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $112.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Paychex from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $127.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Paychex news, Director Joseph Velli sold 7,839 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.68, for a total transaction of $844,103.52. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 81,725 shares in the company, valued at $8,800,148. This trade represents a 8.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Paychex Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX opened at $115.65 on Wednesday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $112.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $103.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.17 billion, a PE ratio of 20.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.81. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $85.45 and a one year high of $127.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.28.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.02. Paychex had a net margin of 27.35% and a return on equity of 52.78%. The company had revenue of $1.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.63 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.22 earnings per share. Paychex's revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.896-6.006 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 26th will be issued a $1.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 26th. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. Paychex's dividend payout ratio is presently 94.44%.

About Paychex

Paychex, Inc provides payroll, human resources and employee-benefits solutions to small and medium-sized businesses. Its offerings include payroll processing, tax administration, time and attendance management, recruiting, onboarding, human resources administration, compliance support and employee benefits services.

The company also provides retirement-plan services, insurance solutions and professional employer organization services. Through its software and outsourced services, Paychex helps employers manage workforce administration, employee data and regulatory requirements.

Paychex was founded in 1971 by B.

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