HighTower Advisors LLC Sells 20,505 Shares of Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

HighTower Advisors LLC decreased its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 11.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 166,570 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 20,505 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $16,379,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. 44 Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Paychex by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,290 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $479,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 3.5% during the second quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,645 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $381,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 1.4% in the third quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 7,270 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $922,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Zacks Investment Management raised its holdings in Paychex by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 2,094 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $265,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Armbruster Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Paychex by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Armbruster Capital Management Inc. now owns 20,299 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,870,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Price Performance

Paychex stock opened at $114.75 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.47, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.82. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $85.45 and a 52-week high of $135.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $117.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $102.54.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, June 24th. The business services provider reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.60 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 27.03% and a return on equity of 50.90%. Paychex’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.19 EPS. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.900-6.010 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Paychex news, Director Joseph Tucci sold 3,907 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.25, for a total value of $383,862.75. Following the transaction, the director owned 67,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,618,513. This represents a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Robert Schrader sold 2,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.09, for a total value of $299,234.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on PAYX. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Paychex from $450.00 to $225.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Paychex in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Raymond James Financial raised Paychex from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $210.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Paychex from $95.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $125.65.

About Paychex

Paychex, Inc is a provider of payroll, human resources, and workforce management solutions for businesses of varying sizes. Its offerings include payroll processing, tax administration, time and attendance tracking, employee benefits administration, retirement services, workers’ compensation and business insurance, recruiting, and compliance support.

The company also provides professional employer organization services, helping businesses manage employment administration and human resources through an integrated platform.