Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd Acquires Shares of 10,379 Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 10,379 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,021,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased 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 valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Leonteq Securities AG increased its position in shares of Paychex by 2,669.2% during the 1st quarter. Leonteq Securities AG now owns 360 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Paychex from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $107.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research note on Monday, July 20th. UBS Group increased their target price 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. Morgan Stanley raised their price target 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. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. One 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $109.20.

Paychex Stock Up 1.3%

PAYX stock opened at $126.48 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $113.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $100.77. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $85.45 and a twelve month high of $139.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.99 billion, a PE ratio of 25.87 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.61 billion for 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.19 earnings per share. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.900-6.010 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 28th will be issued a $1.19 dividend. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 28th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 97.34%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 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 $2,134,574.23. The trade was a 12.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 67,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,618,513. The trade was a 5.48% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.