Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC Invests $552,000 in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 4,725 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $552,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. Family Legacy Inc. acquired a new position in Paychex in the second quarter valued at about $217,000. Maridea Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the 2nd quarter worth about $545,000. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the 2nd quarter worth about $315,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 2nd quarter valued at about $7,296,000. Finally, Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 2nd quarter valued at about $272,000. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PAYX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Paychex in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Paychex from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Paychex from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $109.20.

Paychex Trading Down 2.7%

NASDAQ PAYX opened at $122.02 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $43.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.95 and a beta of 0.81. 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 stock’s 50-day moving average is $108.92 and its 200-day moving average is $99.38. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $85.45 and a one year high of $141.19.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 24th. The business services provider reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $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. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Paychex

In related news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 2,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at $2,134,574.23. This trade represents a 12.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph M. Tucci sold 3,907 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $6,618,513. The trade was a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.