Lido Advisors LLC Purchases 9,919 Shares of Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Lido Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 85.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 21,578 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 9,919 shares during the period. Lido Advisors LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $1,988,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 38.4% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 269,833 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $24,857,000 after purchasing an additional 74,805 shares during the period. Alesco Advisors LLC An ESL Co boosted its position in Paychex by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. Alesco Advisors LLC An ESL Co now owns 15,646 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,441,000 after buying an additional 935 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in Paychex by 13.5% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,344,056 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $215,934,000 after acquiring an additional 278,507 shares in the last quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp grew its stake in Paychex by 67.3% in the 1st quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp now owns 4,879 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $449,000 after acquiring an additional 1,963 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab purchased a new position in shares of Paychex during the first quarter worth approximately $8,081,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Paychex Price Performance

Paychex stock opened at $113.55 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $102.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $98.32. 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 has a market cap of $40.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.22 and a beta of 0.84. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $85.45 and a twelve month high of $148.11.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, June 24th. The business services provider reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.19 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly 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. On average, analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. 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 4.2%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 97.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on PAYX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target 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. UBS Group increased their price objective on Paychex from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Paychex from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Citigroup upgraded Paychex from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $99.00 to $140.00 in a report on Monday, June 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Paychex from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $107.53.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Paychex news, Director Joseph M. Tucci sold 3,907 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.