Prevatt Capital Ltd Acquires Shares of 245,000 Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Prevatt Capital Ltd bought a new stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 245,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $22,569,000. Paychex accounts for 6.1% of Prevatt Capital Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 957.1% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 296 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Stance Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Kingdom Financial Group LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In other news, Director Joseph M. Tucci sold 3,907 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction 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. The trade was a 5.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Paychex in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Paychex from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Citigroup raised shares of Paychex from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $99.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Monday, June 15th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Paychex from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Paychex from $148.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $105.80.

Paychex Price Performance

PAYX stock opened at $106.35 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $96.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $98.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.10 billion, a PE ratio of 21.75 and a beta of 0.84. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $85.45 and a 1 year high of $148.11.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 24th. The business services provider reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.60 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 50.90% and a net margin of 27.03%.The firm’s revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.19 earnings per share. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.900-6.010 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th were paid a $1.19 dividend. This is a boost from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 13th. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.5%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is 97.34%.

About Paychex

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.