CORDA Investment Management LLC. Purchases Shares of 177,460 Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

CORDA Investment Management LLC. acquired a new stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm acquired 177,460 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $17,450,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EFG International AG acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,494,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Paychex in the second quarter valued at $7,296,000. Western Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Paychex during the first quarter worth $1,174,000. Callan Family Office LLC acquired a new position in Paychex during the second quarter worth $2,928,000. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 83.5% during the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 41,248 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,642,000 after acquiring an additional 18,764 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on PAYX shares. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Stephens began coverage on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $132.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Paychex from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “underweight” rating and set a $107.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Paychex from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. One equities research 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $111.00.

Paychex Trading Down 3.9%

Paychex stock traded down $4.78 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $116.93. The stock had a trading volume of 3,178,869 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,493,140. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $117.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $102.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.59 billion, a PE ratio of 23.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.82. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $85.45 and a 12 month high of $135.97.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 24th. The business services provider reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.60 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 50.90% and a net margin of 27.03%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.19 EPS. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.900-6.010 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 28th were issued a $1.19 dividend. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 28th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 97.34%.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In other Paychex news, Director Joseph 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 transaction, the director directly owned 67,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Robert Schrader sold 2,600 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction on Monday, July 20th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,134,574.23. This represents a 12.29% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

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.