Joseph Tucci Sells 3,907 Shares of Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) Stock

Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Director Joseph Tucci sold 3,907 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 67,364 shares in the company, valued at $6,618,513. This trade represents a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Paychex Stock Performance

Paychex stock traded down $1.48 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $98.33. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,147,483 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,773,692. 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 company has a market cap of $35.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.11 and a beta of 0.84. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $85.45 and a 1-year high of $148.76. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $95.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $98.96.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its 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. Paychex had a net margin of 27.03% and a return on equity of 50.90%. The firm had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.60 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.19 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.900-6.010 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 13th were given a dividend of $1.19 per share. This is an increase from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 13th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 97.34%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Paychex

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Paychex by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,348,625 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,750,669,000 after purchasing an additional 4,583,157 shares during the last quarter. First Long Island Investors LLC grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 23.9% during the third quarter. First Long Island Investors LLC now owns 99,607 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $12,626,000 after buying an additional 19,185 shares during the last quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 35.9% during the third quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 63,659 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,069,000 after buying an additional 16,812 shares during the last quarter. LBP AM SA increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 125.2% during the fourth quarter. LBP AM SA now owns 40,517 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,545,000 after buying an additional 22,527 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tectonic Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 17.4% during the fourth quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 79,708 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,942,000 after buying an additional 11,805 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup raised Paychex from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $99.00 to $140.00 in a report on Monday, June 15th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Paychex to $52.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Guggenheim began coverage on Paychex in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Paychex from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, April 24th. One investment 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 given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $105.80.

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.