Paychex, Inc. $PAYX Shares Acquired by Bleakley Financial Group LLC

Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 67.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 19,358 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 7,784 shares during the quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $1,783,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 957.1% during the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 296 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the period. Stance Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Paychex during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. purchased a new position in Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 2,669.2% during the 1st quarter. Leonteq Securities AG now owns 360 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 347 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In related news, Director Joseph M. Tucci sold 3,907 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.25, for a total transaction of $383,862.75. Following the sale, the director owned 67,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,618,513. This trade represents a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PAYX has been the topic of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Paychex in a report on Friday, April 24th. Guggenheim started coverage on Paychex in a report on Thursday, March 19th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Stephens dropped their price target on Paychex from $125.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Paychex from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Paychex to $52.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $105.80.

Paychex Trading Up 4.3%

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $114.70 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $41.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.46 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $99.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $98.28. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $85.45 and a twelve month high of $148.11.

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

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 28th will be paid a dividend of $1.19 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 28th. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 97.34%.

Paychex 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.