Pallas Capital Advisors LLC Takes Position in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Pallas Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 12,985 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,277,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its holdings in 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 buying an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Paychex in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Leonteq Securities AG increased its position in shares of Paychex by 2,669.2% in the first quarter. Leonteq Securities AG now owns 360 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 347 shares during the period. Finally, Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 2,600 shares of the firm’s 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 owned 18,547 shares in the company, valued at $2,134,574.23. This trade represents a 12.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph M. Tucci sold 3,907 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The shares were 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 $6,618,513. This represents a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on PAYX shares. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Paychex from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Paychex from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Paychex from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Paychex in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted 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. One 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 given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $109.20.

Paychex Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of PAYX opened at $119.93 on Wednesday. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $85.45 and a 1-year high of $141.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $109.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $99.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.53 and a beta of 0.81.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 24th. The business services provider reported $1.32 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.60 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.19 earnings per share. Paychex’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. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company 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 $1.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 28th. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.