CORDA Investment Management LLC. Invests $17.45 Million in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

CORDA Investment Management LLC. purchased a new stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 177,460 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $17,450,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. 44 Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Paychex by 2.7% during the second quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,290 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $479,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Paychex by 3.5% in the second quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,645 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $381,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC lifted its holdings in Paychex by 1.4% in the third quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 7,270 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $922,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Paychex by 14.5% in the fourth quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 798 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $90,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. Finally, Zacks Investment Management boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 2,094 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $265,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. 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. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Paychex from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Paychex from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. 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 report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $107.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a report on Monday, July 20th. One 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 issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $109.20.

Paychex Trading Down 2.7%

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $122.02 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $43.40 billion, a PE ratio of 24.95 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $85.45 and a 52-week high of $141.19. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $108.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $99.38.

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

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 28th will be given a dividend of $1.19 per share. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 28th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 97.34%.

Insider Activity

In other Paychex news, 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,547 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,134,574.23. This trade represents a 12.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Joseph M. Tucci sold 3,907 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.25, for a total transaction of $383,862.75. Following the sale, the director owned 67,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,618,513. This trade represents a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

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.