Paychex, Inc. $PAYX Shares Sold by Sterling Capital Management LLC

Sterling Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 40.9% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 8,215 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 5,677 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $757,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. River Street Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex in the first quarter worth approximately $259,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Paychex by 16.0% during the first quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,100 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $654,000 after purchasing an additional 978 shares during the last quarter. Laurel Oak Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Paychex during the first quarter worth approximately $291,000. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in Paychex by 11.3% during the first quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 11,482 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,058,000 after purchasing an additional 1,170 shares during the period. Finally, Welch Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 19.1% in the 1st quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 484,448 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $44,627,000 after purchasing an additional 77,646 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Paychex news, Director Joseph M. Tucci sold 3,907 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owned 67,364 shares in the company, valued at $6,618,513. The trade was a 5.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $102.71 on Thursday. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $85.45 and a 12 month high of $148.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.00 and a beta of 0.83. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $96.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $98.77.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, June 24th. The business services provider reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.01. Paychex had a return on equity of 50.90% and a net margin of 27.03%.The company had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.60 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.19 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.900-6.010 EPS. On average, 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th were paid a dividend of $1.19 per share. This is a boost from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 13th. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.6%. Paychex’s payout ratio is 97.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PAYX has been the subject of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Paychex from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Paychex from $148.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Argus raised Paychex to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Paychex from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Guggenheim initiated coverage on shares of Paychex in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $105.80.

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.