Insider Selling: Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) CFO Sells $299,234.00 in Stock

Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) CFO Robert Schrader sold 2,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.09, for a total value of $299,234.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,547 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 link.

Paychex Trading Down 4.7%

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $116.33 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 company has a market cap of $41.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.79 and a beta of 0.84. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $104.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $98.48. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $85.45 and a 1-year high of $146.83.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.01. The firm 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 quarter last year, the company earned $1.19 EPS. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.900-6.010 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $1.19 per share. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 28th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 97.34%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Paychex

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Capital International Investors boosted its position in Paychex by 59.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 30,265,174 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,395,583,000 after acquiring an additional 11,243,295 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Paychex by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,348,625 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,750,669,000 after acquiring an additional 4,583,157 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in Paychex by 4,141.2% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,409,229 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $270,267,000 after acquiring an additional 2,352,423 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at about $257,699,000. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Paychex by 773.0% in the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,321,663 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $121,752,000 after purchasing an additional 1,170,277 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on PAYX shares. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Paychex from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $107.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a report on Monday, July 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of Paychex in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Paychex from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. One 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $108.20.

Paychex Company 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.