Van ECK Associates Corp Trims Stock Position in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Van ECK Associates Corp lessened its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 11.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 69,442 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 8,568 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Paychex were worth $6,828,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Leonteq Securities AG grew its stake 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 buying an additional 347 shares during the last quarter. Field & Main Bank purchased a new position in Paychex during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Paychex during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In related news, Director Joseph M. Tucci sold 3,907 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.25, for a total value of $383,862.75. Following the completion of the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, 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 completion of the sale, 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 currently owned by insiders.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $124.00 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $44.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.82. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $115.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $101.61. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $85.45 and a 12-month high of $138.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 24th. The business services provider reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.19 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.900-6.010 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 28th were given a dividend of $1.19 per share. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 28th. Paychex’s payout ratio is presently 97.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Paychex from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Paychex from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Paychex from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted 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. One 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 given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $109.20.

About Paychex

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.