Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. Increases Position in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. boosted its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 74.0% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,244 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 529 shares during the quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $181,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Paychex in the first quarter worth about $34,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex during the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex during the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Tsfg LLC grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 122.3% during the first quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 229 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nova Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex during the first quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $127.42 on Tuesday. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $119.02 and a 12-month high of $161.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $133.54 and its 200 day moving average is $143.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.92.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 30th. The business services provider reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.02. Paychex had a net margin of 27.85% and a return on equity of 45.17%. The business had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.54 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.16 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.428-5.528 EPS. Research analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 7th will be given a $1.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 7th. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 97.08%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Paychex news, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.92, for a total value of $1,755,550.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 81,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,602,669.60. This trade represents a 13.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on PAYX. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Paychex from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $130.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Paychex from $153.00 to $148.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $132.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Finally, Barclays set a $155.00 target price on shares of Paychex and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $141.29.

Paychex Company Profile

Paychex, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides integrated human capital management solutions (HCM) for payroll, benefits, human resources (HR), and insurance services for small to medium-sized businesses in the United States, Europe, and India. It offers payroll processing services; payroll tax administration services; employee payment services; and regulatory compliance services, such as new-hire reporting and garnishment processing.