417,092 Shares in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX Acquired by Grandfield & Dodd LLC

Grandfield & Dodd LLC purchased a new position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 417,092 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $41,013,000. Paychex makes up approximately 2.1% of Grandfield & Dodd LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Grandfield & Dodd LLC owned 0.12% of Paychex as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 957.1% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 296 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. bought a new position in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Leonteq Securities AG lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 2,669.2% in the 1st quarter. Leonteq Securities AG now owns 360 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In other Paychex news, Director Joseph M. Tucci sold 3,907 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director directly owned 67,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,618,513. This represents a 5.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction 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. The trade was a 12.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on PAYX shares. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Paychex from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of Paychex in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. 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 research report on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Paychex from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Paychex has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $109.20.

Paychex Trading Down 2.9%

Shares of Paychex stock opened at $118.54 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $42.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.24 and a beta of 0.81. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $109.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $99.43. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $85.45 and a 12-month high of $141.19. 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 (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.60 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 50.90% and a net margin of 27.03%.The business’s revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.19 EPS. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.900-6.010 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 28th will be issued a $1.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 28th. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 97.34%.

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.