Merit Financial Group LLC Boosts Stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Posted by on Mar 24th, 2023

Merit Financial Group LLC increased its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX – Get Rating) by 43.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,854 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,066 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $792,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PAYX. Karp Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Paychex during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in Paychex by 52.1% during the second quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 292 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Old North State Trust LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC raised its position in Paychex by 48.5% during the third quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 398 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. 71.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Paychex Price Performance

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $107.88 on Friday. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $105.66 and a 52 week high of $141.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.89 billion, a PE ratio of 26.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.98. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $113.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $116.22.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, December 22nd. The business services provider reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.04. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.50% and a net margin of 30.45%. The firm had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.18 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.91 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 9th were given a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 8th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 78.02%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 13,744 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.30, for a total transaction of $1,584,683.20. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 33,268 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,835,800.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on PAYX. Moffett Nathanson upped their price objective on Paychex to $130.00 in a research report on Friday, December 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on Paychex from $123.00 to $116.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Paychex from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Paychex from $121.00 to $119.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 23rd. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on Paychex from $131.00 to $119.00 in a research note on Friday, December 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Paychex presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.69.

Paychex Profile

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Paychex, Inc engages in the provision of human capital management solutions for payroll, human resources, insurance and retirement for small and medium-sized businesses. Its solutions include payroll services, hiring services, business insurance, time and attendance, employee benefits, finance and payments, human resources services and startup services.

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX)

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