117,236 Shares in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX Bought by Wealthfront Advisers LLC

Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 117,236 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $11,528,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Paychex by 26.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,710 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $801,000 after purchasing an additional 1,190 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 4,035 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $566,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex in the first quarter worth $3,333,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 41,081 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,976,000 after buying an additional 1,290 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 47.1% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 156,680 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $22,790,000 after buying an additional 50,169 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 2,600 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.09, for a total transaction of $299,234.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,547 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,134,574.23. This trade represents a 12.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph M. Tucci sold 3,907 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.25, for a total transaction of $383,862.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 67,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,618,513. This trade represents a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Paychex Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of PAYX opened at $122.50 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $43.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.05 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current 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 $141.19. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $110.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $99.70.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 24th. The business services provider reported $1.32 EPS 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 business had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.19 EPS. Paychex’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.900-6.010 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 28th will be paid a $1.19 dividend. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 28th. Paychex’s payout ratio is currently 97.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on PAYX. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Paychex from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. UBS Group increased their target price on Paychex from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Paychex from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Paychex from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $107.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research report on Monday, July 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $109.20.

Paychex Profile

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.