Krilogy Financial LLC Makes New Investment in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Krilogy Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 7,447 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $686,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 59.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 30,265,174 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,395,583,000 after acquiring an additional 11,243,295 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Paychex by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,348,625 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,750,669,000 after acquiring an additional 4,583,157 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted 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 valued at $270,267,000 after acquiring an additional 2,352,423 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at about $257,699,000. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Paychex in the third quarter worth about $117,809,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of Paychex stock opened at $99.90 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $95.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $99.14. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $85.45 and a 52 week high of $148.76. The company has a market capitalization of $35.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.43 and a beta of 0.84. 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 released its earnings results on Wednesday, June 24th. The business services provider reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.19 earnings per share. The firm’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. As a group, analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th were issued a dividend of $1.19 per share. This is an increase from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 13th. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.8%. Paychex’s payout ratio is 104.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on PAYX. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Paychex in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Paychex from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Paychex from $148.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Paychex from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $99.00 to $140.00 in a report on Monday, June 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $105.67.

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.