Trust Co. of Vermont Makes New Investment in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Trust Co. of Vermont acquired a new stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 26,937 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,649,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of PAYX. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its stake in Paychex by 957.1% in the 4th 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. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. acquired a new stake in Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Paychex during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Wealth Watch Advisors INC purchased a new position in Paychex during the 3rd quarter valued at about $42,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on PAYX shares. Weiss Ratings raised Paychex from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Paychex from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Citigroup raised their price target on Paychex from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Paychex from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Paychex from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company 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 assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $109.20.

Insider Activity

In other Paychex news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 2,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.09, for a total transaction of $299,234.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 18,547 shares in the company, valued at $2,134,574.23. The trade was a 12.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph M. Tucci sold 3,907 shares of the business’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 transaction, the director owned 67,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,618,513. This represents a 5.48% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Trading Down 2.9%

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $118.54 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $85.45 and a fifty-two week high of $141.19. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $109.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $99.43. The stock has a market cap of $42.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.24 and a beta of 0.81.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, June 24th. The business services provider reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.61 billion for 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.19 EPS. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.900-6.010 EPS. On average, 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 given a $1.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 28th. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.