Cypress Capital Group Decreases Holdings in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Cypress Capital Group cut its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 12.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,392 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 4,567 shares during the quarter. Cypress Capital Group’s holdings in Paychex were worth $3,076,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,348,625 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,750,669,000 after purchasing an additional 4,583,157 shares during the last quarter. LBP AM SA grew its holdings in Paychex by 125.2% in the 4th quarter. LBP AM SA now owns 40,517 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,545,000 after buying an additional 22,527 shares in the last quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Paychex by 17.4% in the 4th quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 79,708 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,942,000 after buying an additional 11,805 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 121,705 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $13,653,000 after acquiring an additional 11,497 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Danske Bank A S increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Danske Bank A S now owns 205,341 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $23,035,000 after acquiring an additional 25,184 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on PAYX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Paychex from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Citigroup raised shares of Paychex from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $99.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Paychex from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Weiss Ratings raised Paychex from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Paychex from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. 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 assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $107.53.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Joseph M. Tucci sold 3,907 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of Paychex stock opened at $113.55 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $102.13 and a 200 day moving average of $98.40. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $85.45 and a 12 month high of $148.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.22 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 24th. The business services provider reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.01. Paychex had a net margin of 27.03% and a return on equity of 50.90%. The firm had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.19 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.900-6.010 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast 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 Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 28th will be paid a $1.19 dividend. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 28th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 97.34%.

Paychex Company 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.