Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Purchases New Position in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 557,326 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $54,897,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.16% of Paychex as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Aviance Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Paychex by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 9,908 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $976,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 2.8% in the third quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 395,061 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $38,914,000 after purchasing an additional 10,696 shares in the last quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 0.8% in the third quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC now owns 420,273 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $41,397,000 after purchasing an additional 3,181 shares in the last quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Paychex by 6.4% in the third quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,691 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $265,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the period. Finally, MGO One Seven LLC increased its holdings in Paychex by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 39,172 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,858,000 after buying an additional 1,771 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Paychex from $120.00 to $110.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 24th. Stephens cut their price objective on Paychex from $132.00 to $113.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their target price on shares of Paychex from $112.00 to $96.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 28th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Paychex in a report on Friday, October 16th. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised shares of Paychex from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $210.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, July 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $127.88.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $112.12 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $112.80 and a 200-day moving average of $103.59. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $85.45 and a 12-month high of $127.98. The company has a market capitalization of $39.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.81. 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 (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.63 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 27.35% and a return on equity of 52.78%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.22 earnings per share. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.896-6.006 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 26th will be issued a dividend of $1.19 per share. 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 4.2%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 94.44%.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In other Paychex 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 in the company, valued at $8,800,148. This represents a 8.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.