First National Bank of Omaha Buys New Stake in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

First National Bank of Omaha purchased a new position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 11,366 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,121,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its holdings in Paychex by 957.1% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 296 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Paychex during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Wealth Watch Advisors INC bought a new position in Paychex during the third quarter worth $42,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 2,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.09, for a total value 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 $2,134,574.23. This represents a 12.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 $6,618,513. This trade represents a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Paychex in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Paychex from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted 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. 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 analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $109.20.

Paychex Stock Up 2.1%

Paychex stock opened at $122.50 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $110.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $99.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.05 and a beta of 0.81. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $85.45 and a one year high of $141.19.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 24th. The business services provider reported $1.32 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $1.60 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 27.03% and a return on equity of 50.90%. Paychex’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.19 EPS. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.900-6.010 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 28th will be paid a $1.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 28th. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.