Jupiter Topco LLC Takes Position in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 41,537 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,084,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PAYX. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Leonteq Securities AG boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 2,669.2% during the 1st quarter. Leonteq Securities AG now owns 360 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 347 shares during the last quarter. Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Castleark Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex during the second quarter worth approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

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 transaction of $383,862.75. Following the sale, the director owned 67,364 shares in the company, valued at $6,618,513. This represents a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly 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 owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on PAYX. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Paychex from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Paychex from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $107.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Paychex from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. One equities 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $109.20.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX opened at $125.64 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $114.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $101.39. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $85.45 and a 12-month high of $139.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.69 billion, a PE ratio of 25.69 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 24th. The business services provider reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.61 billion during 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 firm’s revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.19 earnings per share. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.900-6.010 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 28th were issued a $1.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 28th. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. Paychex’s payout ratio is 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.