Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Acquires Shares of 294,257 Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 294,257 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $28,934,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. owned about 0.08% of Paychex as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its stake 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 worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the period. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Paychex during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. acquired a new stake in Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Leonteq Securities AG lifted its position in Paychex by 2,669.2% in the first quarter. Leonteq Securities AG now owns 360 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares during the period. Finally, Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Performance

Paychex stock opened at $126.01 on Tuesday. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $85.45 and a fifty-two week high of $140.56. The company has a market capitalization of $44.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.77 and a beta of 0.81. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $111.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $100.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the business earned $1.19 earnings per share. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.900-6.010 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 28th will be issued a $1.19 dividend. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 28th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is 97.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group increased their target price on Paychex from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Paychex from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Citigroup raised their target price on Paychex from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Paychex from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $107.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research note on Monday, July 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $109.20.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In other Paychex news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 2,600 shares of the firm’s 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 trade represents a 12.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Joseph M. Tucci sold 3,907 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 corporate insiders.

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.