Bank of Nova Scotia Grows Holdings in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Bank of Nova Scotia raised its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 18.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 468,814 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 74,521 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia owned approximately 0.13% of Paychex worth $43,187,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its position in shares of Paychex by 957.1% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 296 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. purchased a new position in Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Wealth Watch Advisors INC acquired a new position in Paychex during the third quarter worth approximately $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Paychex news, Director Joseph M. Tucci sold 3,907 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.25, for a total value of $383,862.75. Following the sale, the director owned 67,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,618,513. This trade represents a 5.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Paychex Trading Up 2.6%

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $113.55 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $40.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.22 and a beta of 0.84. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $102.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $98.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $85.45 and a 52 week high of $148.11.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, June 24th. The business services provider reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.60 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 27.03% and a return on equity of 50.90%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.19 earnings per share. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.900-6.010 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 28th will be issued a dividend of $1.19 per share. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 28th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is 97.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on PAYX. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Paychex from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Citigroup raised shares of Paychex from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $99.00 to $140.00 in a report on Monday, June 15th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Paychex from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday. UBS Group upped their price target on Paychex from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Paychex from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Paychex currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $107.53.

Paychex Company Profile

Paychex, Inc, founded in 1971 by B. Thomas “Tom” Golisano and headquartered in Rochester, New York, is a provider of payroll, human resources, and benefits outsourcing solutions for small- and medium-sized businesses. The company’s core services include payroll processing and tax filing, employee benefits administration, retirement services, and workers’ compensation administration, designed to simplify back-office operations and help clients comply with regulatory and tax requirements.

Paychex offers an integrated technology platform, marketed under the Paychex Flex brand, which delivers cloud-based payroll, HR, time and attendance, and reporting tools.