Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 9,013 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $886,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. XXEC Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,123,016,000. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Paychex during the second quarter valued at $2,728,970,000. Capital International Investors raised its stake in Paychex by 59.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 30,265,174 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,395,583,000 after buying an additional 11,243,295 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in Paychex in the second quarter worth $434,061,000. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its holdings in Paychex by 4,141.2% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,409,229 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $270,267,000 after acquiring an additional 2,352,423 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 completion of the sale, the director directly 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 2,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.09, for a total transaction of $299,234.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,547 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,134,574.23. The trade was a 12.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Paychex Stock Up 1.3%

Paychex stock opened at $126.48 on Friday. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $85.45 and a 12 month high of $139.53. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $113.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $100.77. 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 has a market cap of $44.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.87 and a beta of 0.81.

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 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 firm had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.60 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.19 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.900-6.010 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. Paychex’s payout ratio is 97.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on PAYX shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Paychex from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Paychex from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $107.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Paychex from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Paychex from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $109.20.

Paychex Company 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.