Dearborn Partners LLC Takes $672,000 Position in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Dearborn Partners LLC acquired a new position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 6,830 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $672,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of PAYX. Bank OZK acquired a new position in Paychex in the 2nd quarter valued at $220,000. Equitable Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in Paychex during the second quarter valued at about $1,297,000. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex in the second quarter valued at about $886,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Paychex in the second quarter worth about $1,247,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in shares of Paychex in the second quarter worth about $9,357,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Paychex Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $127.04 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $45.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.98 and a beta of 0.81. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $85.45 and a one year high of $139.53. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $113.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $100.95. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.60 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 27.03% and a return on equity of 50.90%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.19 EPS. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.900-6.010 EPS. Analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 28th were issued a dividend of $1.19 per share. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 28th. Paychex’s payout ratio is presently 97.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PAYX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen increased their target price on Paychex from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Citigroup upped their price target on Paychex from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Paychex from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of Paychex in a report on Thursday, May 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $109.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Joseph M. Tucci sold 3,907 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 67,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,618,513. This represents a 5.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 2,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.09, for a total value of $299,234.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,547 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 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.