Csenge Advisory Group Buys Shares of 8,679 Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Csenge Advisory Group bought a new position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 8,679 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $853,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PAYX. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,728,970,000. Capital International Investors boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 59.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 30,265,174 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,395,583,000 after purchasing an additional 11,243,295 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,348,625 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,750,669,000 after purchasing an additional 4,583,157 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its holdings in Paychex by 4,141.2% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,409,229 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $270,267,000 after purchasing an additional 2,352,423 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $257,699,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup upped their price target on Paychex from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Paychex from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Paychex from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $107.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Paychex from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $109.20.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 2,600 shares of Paychex 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 18,547 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,134,574.23. This trade represents a 12.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph M. Tucci sold 3,907 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.25, for a total value of $383,862.75. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $122.50 on Thursday. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $85.45 and a 52 week high of $141.19. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $110.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $99.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The company 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 24th. The business services provider reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.60 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.19 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter 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 anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

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

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.