Paychex, Inc. $PAYX Position Raised by Kestra Advisory Services LLC

Kestra Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 35.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 56,766 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,736 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $5,591,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of PAYX. XXEC Inc. acquired a new position in Paychex during the 2nd quarter worth $1,123,016,000. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the second quarter valued at about $2,728,970,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in Paychex during the second quarter worth about $434,061,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in Paychex in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $207,184,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $193,555,000. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PAYX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $118.00 to $113.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Paychex from $120.00 to $110.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a report on Thursday, September 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Paychex from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $105.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $120.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a report on Thursday, October 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $115.93.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In other news, Director Joseph Velli sold 7,839 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 14th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $8,800,148. This trade represents a 8.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Price Performance

Paychex stock opened at $115.18 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $41.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.81. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $85.45 and a 12-month high of $127.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $111.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $103.95.

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

Paychex Announces Dividend

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

Paychex Profile

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.