140,420 Shares in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX Acquired by Freestone Grove Partners LP

Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 140,420 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $13,807,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. 44 Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 2.7% during the second quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,290 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $479,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in Paychex by 3.5% during the second quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,645 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $381,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 7,270 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $922,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Paychex by 14.5% in the fourth quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 798 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $90,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. Finally, Zacks Investment Management raised its holdings in Paychex by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 2,094 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $265,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In related news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 2,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 20th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,134,574.23. This represents a 12.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph M. Tucci sold 3,907 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.25, for a total transaction of $383,862.75. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 67,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,618,513. This trade represents a 5.48% 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 Price Performance

PAYX stock opened at $126.48 on Friday. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $85.45 and a 1 year high of $139.53. The business’s 50-day moving average is $113.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $100.77. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $44.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.87 and a beta of 0.81.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.19 EPS. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.900-6.010 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 28th will be given a dividend of $1.19 per share. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 28th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 97.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PAYX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen upped their price objective 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. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “underweight” rating and set a $107.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a report on Monday, July 20th. UBS Group upped 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. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Paychex from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Paychex from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $109.20.

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.