6,320 Paychex, Inc. $PAYX Shares Purchased by Welch Group LLC

Welch Group LLC raised its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 509,897 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,320 shares during the quarter. Paychex accounts for about 1.7% of Welch Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Welch Group LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $50,225,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. XXEC Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,123,016,000. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Paychex during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,728,970,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of Paychex in the second quarter worth $434,061,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in shares of Paychex in the second quarter worth $207,184,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Paychex in the second quarter worth $193,555,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PAYX has been the subject of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Paychex from $120.00 to $110.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Paychex from $117.00 to $105.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $450.00 to $225.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Paychex from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $105.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $127.88.

Paychex Stock Performance

Paychex stock opened at $112.12 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.28. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $112.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $103.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.91 billion, a PE ratio of 22.25, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.81. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $85.45 and a 52 week high of $127.98.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.02. Paychex had a return on equity of 52.78% and a net margin of 27.35%. The business had revenue of $1.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.63 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.22 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.896-6.006 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 26th will be given a $1.19 dividend. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 26th. Paychex’s payout ratio is currently 94.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Joseph Velli sold 7,839 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.68, for a total transaction of $844,103.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 81,725 shares in the company, valued at $8,800,148. The trade was a 8.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Paychex Company Profile

Paychex, Inc provides payroll, human resources and employee-benefits solutions to small and medium-sized businesses. Its offerings include payroll processing, tax administration, time and attendance management, recruiting, onboarding, human resources administration, compliance support and employee benefits services.

The company also provides retirement-plan services, insurance solutions and professional employer organization services. Through its software and outsourced services, Paychex helps employers manage workforce administration, employee data and regulatory requirements.

Paychex was founded in 1971 by B.