Trilogy Capital Inc. Buys 5,849 Shares of Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Trilogy Capital Inc. increased its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 19.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 35,984 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,849 shares during the quarter. Trilogy Capital Inc.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $3,538,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PAYX. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its holdings in Paychex by 957.1% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 296 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. bought a new position in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Leonteq Securities AG grew its position in shares of Paychex by 2,669.2% in the 1st 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 acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Paychex Stock Up 0.8%

PAYX stock opened at $118.66 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.27 and a beta of 0.81. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $105.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $98.62. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $85.45 and a fifty-two week high of $141.89.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 24th. The business services provider reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.61 billion during 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%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.19 earnings per share. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.900-6.010 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

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 issued a dividend of $1.19 per share. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 28th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is 97.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In other Paychex news, Director Joseph M. Tucci sold 3,907 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.25, for a total transaction of $383,862.75. Following the sale, the director directly owned 67,364 shares in the company, valued at $6,618,513. This represents a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 2,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.09, for a total transaction of $299,234.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,547 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,134,574.23. This represents a 12.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Paychex from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $107.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Paychex from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of Paychex in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $108.20.

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.