Freestone Grove Partners LP Purchases New Position in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Key Points

• Freestone Grove Partners acquired 140,420 Paychex shares during the second quarter, worth approximately $13.8 million. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company.
• Paychex exceeded quarterly earnings expectations with $1.32 in EPS and $1.61 billion in revenue, up 12.5% year over year. The company maintained FY2027 EPS guidance of $5.90–$6.01.
• Paychex announced a quarterly dividend of $1.19 per share, equivalent to an annualized yield of 3.8%. Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $109.20, below the reported share price of $126.48.

Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 140,420 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $13,807,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 957.1% in the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 296 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the period. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. bought a new stake in Paychex in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Leonteq Securities AG boosted its stake in Paychex by 2,669.2% during the first quarter. Leonteq Securities AG now owns 360 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 347 shares during the period. Finally, Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Paychex during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Paychex news, 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 sale, the director owned 67,364 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,618,513. This trade represents a 5.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 2,600 shares of Paychex 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 18,547 shares in the company, valued at $2,134,574.23. This represents a 12.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Paychex Stock Up 1.3%

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $126.48 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $85.45 and a 1-year high of $139.53. The company has a 50-day moving average of $113.19 and a 200 day moving average of $100.77. The firm has a market cap of $44.99 billion, a PE ratio of 25.87 and a beta of 0.81.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, June 24th. The business services provider reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.01. Paychex had a net margin of 27.03% and a return on equity of 50.90%. The business had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.19 EPS. The company'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. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 28th will be issued a dividend of $1.19 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 28th. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. Paychex's dividend payout ratio is currently 97.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on PAYX. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Paychex from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Paychex from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Paychex from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Paychex from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. 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 issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average 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.

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