Pacer Advisors Inc. Has $121.75 Million Position in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 773.0% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,321,663 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,170,277 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $121,752,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its position in shares of Paychex by 957.1% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. bought a new position in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Leonteq Securities AG grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 2,669.2% during the first quarter. Leonteq Securities AG now owns 360 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares during the period. Finally, Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on PAYX shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Paychex from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “underweight” rating and set a $107.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Weiss Ratings raised Paychex from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Paychex from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $108.20.

Paychex Price Performance

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $116.84 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $104.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $98.51. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $85.45 and a 52-week high of $146.83. The company has a market cap of $41.56 billion, a PE ratio of 23.89 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 (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, June 24th. The business services provider reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.01. Paychex had a return on equity of 50.90% and a net margin of 27.03%.The firm had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.19 EPS. The business’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, sell-side analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 28th will be issued a $1.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 28th. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 97.34%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 2,600 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 18,547 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,134,574.23. This trade represents a 12.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph M. Tucci sold 3,907 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.25, for a total transaction of $383,862.75. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 67,364 shares in the company, valued at $6,618,513. The trade was a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

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.