Paychex, Inc. $PAYX Stock Position Reduced by Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd.

Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. lessened its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 36.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,425 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 4,837 shares during the quarter. Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $828,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CORDA Investment Management LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Paychex in the second quarter worth $17,450,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in Paychex by 20.4% during the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 19,999 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,967,000 after purchasing an additional 3,385 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in Paychex by 4.5% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 92,454 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $9,091,000 after purchasing an additional 3,939 shares in the last quarter. West Family Investments Inc. acquired a new position in Paychex in the 2nd quarter worth about $228,000. Finally, Waverly Advisors LLC increased its position in Paychex by 44.0% in the 2nd quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 16,141 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,587,000 after purchasing an additional 4,933 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In other Paychex news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 2,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 owned 18,547 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,134,574.23. The trade was a 12.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph M. Tucci sold 3,907 shares of the company’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 sale, the director owned 67,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX opened at $116.93 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $117.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $102.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $85.45 and a 52 week high of $135.97. The firm has a market cap of $41.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.82.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, June 24th. The business services provider reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $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, equities research analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 28th were issued a dividend of $1.19 per share. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 28th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 97.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Paychex from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Paychex from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of Paychex in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Stephens started coverage on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, September 4th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $132.00 target price for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Paychex from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Paychex has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $111.00.

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.