2,077,847 Shares in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX Bought by Norges Bank

Norges Bank acquired a new position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,077,847 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $302,244,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its position in Paychex by 83.8% during the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 215 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. Nova Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 1st quarter valued at $38,000. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 40.6% during the 2nd quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 263 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its position in Paychex by 94.0% in the 2nd quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 293 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Argus cut their price target on shares of Paychex from $170.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Citigroup initiated coverage on Paychex in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $139.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Paychex in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Stephens raised Paychex to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on Paychex from $140.00 to $132.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $139.87.

Paychex Stock Up 0.3%

NASDAQ PAYX opened at $111.79 on Monday. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $108.00 and a 1 year high of $161.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.23 billion, a PE ratio of 25.12, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The business’s 50-day moving average is $120.05 and its 200 day moving average is $136.24.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 30th. The business services provider reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.02. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.17% and a net margin of 27.85%.The business had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.16 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.428-5.528 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 7th were given a dividend of $1.08 per share. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 7th. Paychex’s payout ratio is presently 97.08%.

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.