abrdn plc Raises Stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

abrdn plc boosted its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 6.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 128,827 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 8,221 shares during the quarter. abrdn plc’s holdings in Paychex were worth $17,313,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

Paychex Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $139.33 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.38. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $106.27 and a 1 year high of $144.17. The company has a market cap of $50.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.71, a PEG ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 1.00. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $136.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $127.27.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 31.98% and a return on equity of 45.97%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.14 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In other Paychex news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 17,362 shares in the company, valued at $2,471,480.70. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.03, for a total transaction of $3,674,284.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,018,020.45. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.35, for a total transaction of $1,852,685.25. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,362 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Insiders sold a total of 68,608 shares of company stock valued at $9,384,512 in the last three months. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Citigroup raised their price objective on Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Paychex from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Barclays increased their target price on Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Paychex has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $130.77.

About Paychex

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.