Joseph Tucci Sells 3,907 Shares of Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) Stock

Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Director Joseph Tucci sold 3,907 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director owned 67,364 shares in the company, valued at $6,618,513. This represents a 5.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Paychex Price Performance

PAYX traded down $1.48 on Tuesday, reaching $98.33. The stock had a trading volume of 3,147,483 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,773,692. 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 capitalization of $35.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.11 and a beta of 0.84. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $85.45 and a fifty-two week high of $148.76. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $95.77 and a 200-day moving average of $98.96.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.60 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 50.90% and a net margin of 27.03%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.19 earnings per share. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.900-6.010 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 13th were issued a $1.19 dividend. This is a boost from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 13th. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.8%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 97.34%.

Institutional Trading of Paychex

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in Paychex during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Stance Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex during the third quarter worth $31,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Kingdom Financial Group LLC. bought a new position in Paychex during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Paychex to $52.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Paychex from $100.00 to $98.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Stephens decreased their price objective on Paychex from $125.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $105.80.

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.