Dearborn Partners LLC Takes $643,000 Position in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Dearborn Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 6,976 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $643,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. D.B. Root & Company LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex during the second quarter worth about $290,000. Ally Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Paychex in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,950,000. TCM Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Paychex in the second quarter valued at approximately $718,000. Cibc World Market Inc. bought a new position in shares of Paychex during the second quarter valued at approximately $3,148,000. Finally, OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp bought a new position in shares of Paychex during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,873,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Up 1.2%

PAYX opened at $126.01 on Tuesday. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $85.45 and a 12 month high of $140.56. 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 stock has a market cap of $44.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.77 and a beta of 0.81. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $111.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $100.20.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced 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 return on equity of 50.90% and a net margin of 27.03%.The firm had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.19 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter 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, research analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 28th. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 97.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on PAYX. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $107.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Paychex from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Paychex from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. UBS Group increased their target price on Paychex from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Paychex from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. One research 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $109.20.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In other news, Director Joseph M. Tucci sold 3,907 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.25, for a total value of $383,862.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 67,364 shares in the company, valued at $6,618,513. This trade represents a 5.48% 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, CFO Robert L. 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 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. This represents a 12.29% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.