Csenge Advisory Group Takes Position in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Csenge Advisory Group purchased a new position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 8,679 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $853,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PAYX. 44 Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Paychex by 2.7% in 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 in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Paychex by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,645 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $381,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 1.4% during the third quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 7,270 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $922,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 14.5% during the fourth quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 798 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $90,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zacks Investment Management raised its position in shares of Paychex by 5.1% in the third quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 2,094 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $265,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Paychex from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $107.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Paychex from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Paychex from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $109.20.

Paychex Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $122.50 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $85.45 and a twelve month high of $141.19. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $110.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $99.70. The stock has a market cap of $43.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.05 and a beta of 0.81.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 24th. The business services provider reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.60 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.19 earnings per share. Paychex’s revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 28th will be issued a dividend of $1.19 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 28th. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 97.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 2,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.09, for a total value of $299,234.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,547 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,134,574.23. This represents a 12.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 value of $383,862.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 67,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,618,513. The trade was a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.