Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Purchased by abrdn plc

abrdn plc increased its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 128,827 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 8,221 shares during the period. abrdn plc's holdings in Paychex were worth $17,313,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PAYX. Autumn Glory Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 166.8% during the 3rd quarter. Autumn Glory Partners LLC now owns 5,429 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $729,000 after buying an additional 3,394 shares during the last quarter. Welch Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 404,557 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $54,288,000 after acquiring an additional 3,406 shares during the last quarter. Inscription Capital LLC boosted its position in Paychex by 15.1% during the third quarter. Inscription Capital LLC now owns 2,533 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $340,000 after buying an additional 332 shares during the period. Ridgepath Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Paychex by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Ridgepath Capital Management LLC now owns 37,625 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $5,049,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares during the period. Finally, Hamlin Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Paychex by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC now owns 1,153,530 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $154,792,000 after buying an additional 97,867 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In other news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 14,434 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.21, for a total value of $1,807,281.14. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $674,005.43. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 14,434 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.21, for a total value of $1,807,281.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,383 shares of the company's stock, valued at $674,005.43. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.35, for a total value of $1,852,685.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,362 shares in the company, valued at $2,471,480.70. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 68,608 shares of company stock valued at $9,384,512. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PAYX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Citigroup upped their price objective on Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Paychex has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $130.77.

Paychex Price Performance

NASDAQ PAYX traded down $0.24 during trading on Friday, hitting $139.09. 1,182,361 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,783,448. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $136.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $127.39. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $108.58 and a 12-month high of $144.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company has a market capitalization of $50.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 1.00.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.97% and a net margin of 31.98%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.14 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.82%. Paychex's dividend payout ratio is currently 83.58%.

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.