Perigon Wealth Management LLC Purchases Shares of 4,476 Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Perigon Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 4,476 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $440,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PAYX. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its stake in Paychex by 957.1% during the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 296 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex in 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 and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Paychex from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Paychex from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “underweight” rating and set a $107.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research note on Monday, July 20th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $109.20.

Paychex Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $122.50 on Thursday. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $85.45 and a twelve month high of $141.19. The stock has a market cap of $43.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.05 and a beta of 0.81. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $110.13 and a 200 day moving average of $99.70. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 24th. The business services provider reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.60 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 50.90% and a net margin of 27.03%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.19 EPS. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.900-6.010 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company 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. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 28th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 97.34%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 2,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.09, for a total transaction of $299,234.00. Following 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Joseph M. Tucci sold 3,907 shares of the firm’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 sale, the director owned 67,364 shares in the company, valued at $6,618,513. This trade represents a 5.48% 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 currently 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.