Empowered Funds LLC Buys 91,459 Shares of Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 199.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 137,328 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 91,459 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $12,651,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, 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 value of $383,862.75. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 67,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,618,513. This represents a 5.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 2,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.09, for a total value of $299,234.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Paychex Stock Performance

PAYX opened at $122.13 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $43.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.98 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. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $103.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $98.46. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $85.45 and a 52-week high of $148.00.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released 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. Paychex had a net margin of 27.03% and a return on equity of 50.90%. The company had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.60 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.19 EPS. Paychex’s revenue for the quarter 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, equities analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on PAYX. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Paychex in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Paychex from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Citigroup raised shares of Paychex from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $99.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Paychex from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $107.53.

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.