Isthmus Partners LLC Invests $11.56 Million in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Isthmus Partners LLC bought a new stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 125,487 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $11,560,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Paychex during the third quarter valued at $27,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its position in shares of Paychex by 957.1% in the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 296 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 268 shares during the period. Stance Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Kingdom Financial Group LLC. bought a new position in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In other Paychex news, Director Joseph M. Tucci sold 3,907 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 approximately $6,618,513. This trade represents a 5.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

More Paychex News

Here are the key news stories impacting Paychex this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research raised multiple EPS estimates for Paychex, including FY2027, FY2028 and FY2029, signaling stronger long-term profit expectations.
• Positive Sentiment: The firm also increased forecasts for several quarterly periods, including Q1 2027, Q2 2027, Q3 2027 and Q4 2028, reinforcing a constructive earnings outlook.
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent commentary highlighted Paychex’s improving small-business hiring trends, AI expansion and workplace recognition, which support the company’s growth narrative. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Some estimates were cut, including Q4 2027, Q1 2028, Q3 2028 and FY2028 EPS, which may temper enthusiasm around near- to mid-term growth.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on PAYX shares. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $100.00 to $98.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Guggenheim initiated coverage on shares of Paychex in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Paychex from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Paychex from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Paychex from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. One equities 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 issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $105.80.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $106.58 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $38.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.80 and a beta of 0.84. 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 one year low of $85.45 and a one year high of $148.11. The company’s 50-day moving average is $97.59 and its 200 day moving average is $98.46.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, June 24th. The business services provider reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.01. Paychex had a net margin of 27.03% and a return on equity of 50.90%. The business had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.19 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.900-6.010 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 13th were given a $1.19 dividend. This is a boost from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 13th. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.5%. Paychex’s payout ratio is currently 97.34%.

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.