T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. Purchases Shares of 2,629 Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Key Points

• T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. has acquired a new position in Paychex, Inc. worth approximately $406,000, purchasing 2,629 shares during the first quarter.
• Paychex has announced a quarterly dividend of $1.08 per share, translating to an annualized dividend of $4.32 and a yield of 3.1%.
• Institutional investors own 83.47% of Paychex's stock, indicating high confidence in the company's financial stability and future growth potential.

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,629 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $406,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of PAYX. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Paychex by 20,236.7% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,153,089 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $177,899,000 after acquiring an additional 1,147,419 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Paychex in the 1st quarter valued at $134,192,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Paychex by 7.3% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,782,173 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,663,474,000 after acquiring an additional 737,542 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Paychex by 16.9% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,807,554 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $674,115,000 after acquiring an additional 694,651 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Neuberger Berman Group LLC grew its position in Paychex by 117.6% in the 1st quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 1,217,092 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $187,512,000 after acquiring an additional 657,871 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Paychex Stock Up 0.1%

PAYX stock traded up $0.07 during trading on Thursday, reaching $138.72. 1,681,427 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,276,607. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $128.92 and a 12 month high of $161.24. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $142.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $147.50. The company has a market capitalization of $49.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.91. 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 (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 25th. The business services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.01% and a net margin of 29.75%.The company had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.38 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.12 earnings per share. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st will be given a dividend of $1.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 94.53%.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In other Paychex news, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.92, for a total value of $1,755,550.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 81,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,602,669.60. This trade represents a 13.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chairman owned 446,917 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $64,878,940.89. This trade represents a 17.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 11.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on PAYX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Paychex from $148.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Paychex from $158.00 to $148.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Paychex in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $160.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $165.00 price target on Paychex and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Paychex from $150.00 to $148.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $149.70.

Paychex Profile

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.