EFG International AG Purchases Shares of 15,201 Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

EFG International AG purchased a new position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 15,201 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,494,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Paychex in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its position in 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 buying an additional 268 shares during the period. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. bought a new position in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Wealth Watch Advisors INC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex in the third quarter worth about $42,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PAYX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Paychex from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “underweight” rating and set a $107.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Weiss Ratings raised Paychex from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Paychex from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Paychex from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. One 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, Paychex currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $109.20.

Paychex Stock Down 0.1%

NASDAQ PAYX opened at $124.88 on Thursday. 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 capitalization of $44.42 billion, a PE ratio of 25.54 and a beta of 0.81. 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 $112.62 and its 200 day moving average is $100.57.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 24th. The business services provider reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.01. Paychex had a net margin of 27.03% and a return on equity of 50.90%. The business had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.19 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.900-6.010 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Joseph M. Tucci sold 3,907 shares of the 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 transaction, the director directly owned 67,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,618,513. This represents a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 2,600 shares of the firm’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 owned 18,547 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,134,574.23. This trade represents a 12.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Paychex 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.