Alley Investment Management Company LLC Increases Position in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Alley Investment Management Company LLC increased its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 22.2% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 200,847 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 36,486 shares during the period. Paychex comprises approximately 2.3% of Alley Investment Management Company LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Alley Investment Management Company LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $18,502,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. 44 Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Paychex by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,290 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $479,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,645 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $381,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 0.3% in the third quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC now owns 27,686 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,509,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 5,834 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $654,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. Finally, Bollard Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 0.6% during the third quarter. Bollard Group LLC now owns 16,496 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,091,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of Paychex stock opened at $98.33 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $95.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $98.86. The company has a market cap of $35.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.11 and a beta of 0.84. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $85.45 and a fifty-two week high of $148.76. 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 (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 24th. The business services provider reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.60 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 50.90% and a net margin of 27.03%.Paychex’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.19 EPS. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.900-6.010 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th were paid a dividend of $1.19 per share. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 13th. This is a positive change from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 97.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Argus raised shares of Paychex to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Citigroup upgraded Paychex from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $99.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Stephens decreased their price objective on Paychex from $125.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Paychex in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Paychex to $52.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $105.80.

Insider Activity

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

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.