Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. Invests $30.54 Million in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 310,631 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $30,544,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 period. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Leonteq Securities AG raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 347 shares during the period. Finally, Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Paychex during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on PAYX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Paychex from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Paychex from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of Paychex in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Paychex from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Paychex presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $109.20.

Insider Activity

In other Paychex news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 2,600 shares of the business’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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,547 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,134,574.23. The trade was a 12.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction, the director owned 67,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,618,513. The trade was a 5.48% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Up 2.1%

PAYX stock opened at $122.50 on Thursday. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $85.45 and a twelve month high of $141.19. The stock has a market cap of $43.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.05 and a beta of 0.81. 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 company’s 50 day moving average is $110.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $99.70.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, June 24th. The business services provider reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.60 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 50.90% and a net margin of 27.03%.The business’s revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.19 earnings per share. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.900-6.010 EPS. Research analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 28th will be given a dividend of $1.19 per share. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 28th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.