Rakuten Investment Management Inc. Purchases 7,843 Shares of Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 88,307 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,843 shares during the period. Rakuten Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $8,770,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 32.7% during the 3rd quarter. Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,034 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $791,000 after buying an additional 1,981 shares in the last quarter. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Paychex in the third quarter valued at approximately $72,000. Integrity Alliance LLC. grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 8.6% in the third quarter. Integrity Alliance LLC. now owns 3,119 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $307,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC increased its position in shares of Paychex by 3.6% during the third quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC now owns 3,551 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $350,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Nebraska Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex during the third quarter valued at approximately $9,177,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Raymond James Financial raised Paychex from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $210.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Paychex from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $105.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Paychex in a research report on Thursday, September 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their target price on Paychex from $112.00 to $96.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 28th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on Paychex from $450.00 to $225.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. One investment 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 issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Paychex currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $127.88.

Paychex Stock Up 0.7%

Paychex stock opened at $119.50 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $112.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $103.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $85.45 and a twelve month high of $127.98. The company has a market capitalization of $42.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.81.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company 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 firm posted $1.22 EPS. Paychex’s 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, equities analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 26th will be paid a $1.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 26th. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Paychex’s payout ratio is presently 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.