London Co. of Virginia Has $124.74 Million Stock Holdings in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

London Co. of Virginia decreased its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 6.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,354,123 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 91,760 shares during the quarter. London Co. of Virginia’s holdings in Paychex were worth $124,744,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PAYX. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its holdings in Paychex by 957.1% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 296 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the period. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Leonteq Securities AG grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 2,669.2% in the 1st quarter. Leonteq Securities AG now owns 360 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 347 shares during the period. Finally, Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on PAYX shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Paychex from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Paychex from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Citigroup upgraded Paychex from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $99.00 to $140.00 in a report on Monday, June 15th. UBS Group raised their price target on Paychex from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $107.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a report on Monday, July 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $107.53.

Paychex Trading Up 2.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $113.55 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $40.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.22 and a beta of 0.84. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $85.45 and a 12 month high of $148.11. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $102.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $98.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, June 24th. The business services provider reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.60 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 27.03% and a return on equity of 50.90%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.19 EPS. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.900-6.010 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 28th will be issued a $1.19 dividend. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 28th. Paychex’s payout ratio is 97.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In other news, Director Joseph M. Tucci sold 3,907 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.25, for a total transaction of $383,862.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 67,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,618,513. This represents a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Paychex 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.