Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. Takes $1.76 Million Position in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 19,104 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,760,000. Paychex accounts for about 1.9% of Measured Risk Portfolios Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,348,625 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,750,669,000 after purchasing an additional 4,583,157 shares in the last quarter. LBP AM SA raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 125.2% during the fourth quarter. LBP AM SA now owns 40,517 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,545,000 after purchasing an additional 22,527 shares in the last quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 17.4% during the fourth quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 79,708 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,942,000 after purchasing an additional 11,805 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank lifted its holdings in Paychex by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 121,705 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $13,653,000 after purchasing an additional 11,497 shares during the period. Finally, Danske Bank A S lifted its holdings in Paychex by 14.0% in the fourth quarter. Danske Bank A S now owns 205,341 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $23,035,000 after purchasing an additional 25,184 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Trading Up 1.7%

Paychex stock opened at $115.48 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market cap of $41.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.62 and a beta of 0.84. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $85.45 and a 1 year high of $148.11. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $102.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $98.35.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 24th. The business services provider reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.01. Paychex had a return on equity of 50.90% and a net margin of 27.03%.The company had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.60 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.19 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.900-6.010 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Paychex

In other news, Director Joseph M. Tucci sold 3,907 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.25, for a total transaction of $383,862.75. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 67,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,618,513. This represents a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PAYX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Paychex from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Paychex from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Paychex in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Paychex from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $107.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a report on Monday, July 20th. One investment 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 given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Paychex presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $107.53.

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.