Paychex, Inc. $PAYX Stock: Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich Grows Holdings

Key Points

• Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its Paychex stake by 83.4% in the third quarter, to 44,806 shares valued at about $4.4 million. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the stock.
• Analyst sentiment is mostly neutral: Paychex has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $127.88.
• Paychex reported quarterly EPS of $1.34, ahead of estimates, while revenue rose 5.9% year over year to $1.63 billion. It also declared a $1.19 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a 4.1% yield.

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich grew its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 83.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 44,806 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 20,376 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich's holdings in Paychex were worth $4,415,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of PAYX. XXEC Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,123,016,000. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Paychex in the second quarter worth $2,728,970,000. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,411,341 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,417,067,000 after buying an additional 361,713 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of Paychex during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $434,061,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in Paychex by 13.5% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,344,056 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $215,934,000 after buying an additional 278,507 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PAYX has been the topic of several research reports. Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Paychex in a research report on Thursday, September 17th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Paychex from $120.00 to $110.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $130.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $95.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. Finally, Stephens decreased their price target on Paychex from $132.00 to $113.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $127.88.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In related news, Director Joseph Velli sold 7,839 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.68, for a total transaction of $844,103.52. Following the sale, the director directly owned 81,725 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,800,148. This represents a 8.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Paychex Stock Performance

Paychex stock opened at $115.65 on Wednesday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $112.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $103.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.28. The stock has a market cap of $41.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.95, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.81. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $85.45 and a fifty-two week high of $127.98.

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

Paychex Announces Dividend

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

Paychex Company Profile

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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