13,076 Shares in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX Bought by Strategic Investment Advisors MI

Strategic Investment Advisors MI acquired a new stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 13,076 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,205,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Arkadios Wealth Advisors increased its position in Paychex by 6.7% in the 1st quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 72,584 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,686,000 after acquiring an additional 4,586 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council lifted its position in Paychex by 119.7% during the 1st quarter. South Dakota Investment Council now owns 16,517 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,522,000 after acquiring an additional 9,000 shares during the period. IFS Group LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex during the 1st quarter worth approximately $294,000. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $3,257,000. Finally, Amundi increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 1.8% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 1,634,609 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $150,580,000 after purchasing an additional 28,844 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PAYX has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group upped their price target 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 lifted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of Paychex in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $107.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research note on Monday, July 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $108.20.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX opened at $116.33 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $85.45 and a 52-week high of $146.83. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $104.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $98.48. The company has a market capitalization of $41.38 billion, a PE ratio of 23.79 and a beta of 0.84.

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. Paychex had a net margin of 27.03% and a return on equity of 50.90%. The firm had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.19 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.900-6.010 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 28th will be paid a dividend of $1.19 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 28th. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. Paychex’s payout ratio is 97.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 2,600 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,134,574.23. The trade was a 12.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Joseph M. Tucci sold 3,907 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The stock was 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 approximately $6,618,513. The trade was a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

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.