United Capital Financial Advisors LLC Takes $5.54 Million Position in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

United Capital Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 56,375 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,543,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PAYX. 44 Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Paychex by 2.7% during the second quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,290 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $479,000 after buying an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 3.5% in the second quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,645 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $381,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the period. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC boosted its stake in Paychex by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 7,270 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $922,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Paychex by 14.5% in the 4th quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 798 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $90,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. Finally, Zacks Investment Management grew its position in Paychex by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 2,094 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $265,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Trading Up 1.3%

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $126.48 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $113.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $100.77. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $85.45 and a 52 week high of $139.53. The company has a market capitalization of $44.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.87 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued 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. The firm had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.60 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 27.03% and a return on equity of 50.90%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.19 earnings per share. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.900-6.010 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 28th will be paid a $1.19 dividend. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 28th. Paychex’s payout ratio is presently 97.34%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 2,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.09, for a total value of $299,234.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,547 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,134,574.23. This represents a 12.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Joseph M. Tucci sold 3,907 shares of the 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 transaction, the director directly owned 67,364 shares in the company, valued at $6,618,513. The trade was a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on PAYX shares. TD Cowen increased their target price on Paychex from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Paychex from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Paychex from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Paychex from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Paychex from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. One research 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 issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.