Paychex, Inc. $PAYX Stock Holdings Boosted by Ethic Inc.

Ethic Inc. boosted its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 11.9% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 96,799 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,285 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $9,535,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. Buckhead Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 14.1% in the 3rd quarter. Buckhead Capital Management LLC now owns 2,919 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $288,000 after acquiring an additional 361 shares during the last quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS grew its position in Paychex by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 59,117 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,823,000 after acquiring an additional 1,345 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its position in Paychex by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 12,245 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,206,000 after acquiring an additional 1,176 shares during the last quarter. W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co grew its position in Paychex by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co now owns 111,732 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $11,006,000 after acquiring an additional 2,738 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Plancorp LLC acquired a new position in Paychex in the 3rd quarter worth about $300,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on PAYX shares. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Paychex from $125.00 to $110.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 28th. Stephens lowered their price objective on Paychex from $132.00 to $113.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $120.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $112.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $130.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $115.93.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $117.06 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $41.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $85.45 and a 12-month high of $127.98. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $112.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $103.78.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, September 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.34 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $1.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.63 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.22 EPS. The business’s quarterly 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. Analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 26th will be given a dividend of $1.19 per share. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 26th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 94.44%.

Insider Activity

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

About Paychex

Paychex, Inc provides payroll, human resources and employee benefits solutions to businesses of varying sizes. Its services include payroll processing, tax administration, time and attendance tools, HR support, employee benefits, retirement services and business insurance.

The company also offers professional employer organization services, which let businesses outsource certain employment responsibilities, as well as technology for workforce management, recruiting and compliance. Paychex primarily serves employers in the United States and supports businesses with international workforce needs.

Founded in Rochester, New York, in 1971 by B.