Krilogy Financial LLC Acquires Shares of 7,447 Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Krilogy Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 7,447 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $686,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. 44 Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Paychex by 2.7% in the second quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,290 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $479,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,645 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $381,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC now owns 27,686 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,509,000 after buying an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust grew its position in shares of Paychex by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 5,834 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $654,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. Finally, Bollard Group LLC grew its position in shares of Paychex by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Bollard Group LLC now owns 16,496 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,091,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX opened at $99.90 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $95.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $99.14. 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $85.45 and a 12 month high of $148.76. The company has a market cap of $35.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.43 and a beta of 0.84.

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, 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 revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.19 earnings per share. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.900-6.010 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th were given a $1.19 dividend. This is a positive change from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 13th. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.8%. Paychex’s payout ratio is presently 104.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on PAYX. Stephens lowered their price target on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Paychex from $100.00 to $98.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Paychex to $52.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Paychex currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $105.67.

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.