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

Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 67.3% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 19,358 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,784 shares during the quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $1,783,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Paychex by 26.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,710 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $801,000 after buying an additional 1,190 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 4,035 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $566,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Paychex during the 1st quarter worth about $3,333,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 3.2% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 41,081 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,976,000 after acquiring an additional 1,290 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 47.1% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 156,680 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $22,790,000 after acquiring an additional 50,169 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on PAYX shares. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Paychex from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Guggenheim started coverage on shares of Paychex in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Paychex from $100.00 to $98.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Paychex from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Paychex from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Paychex currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $105.80.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $114.70 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $99.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $98.28. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $85.45 and a 52 week high of $148.11. 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 company has a market cap of $41.10 billion, a PE ratio of 23.46 and a beta of 0.84.

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

Paychex Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Paychex

In other news, Director Joseph M. Tucci sold 3,907 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.25, for a total value of $383,862.75. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 67,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,618,513. This represents a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.