Paychex, Inc. $PAYX Shares Purchased by Carnegie Investment Counsel

Carnegie Investment Counsel boosted its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 60.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,765 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,620 shares during the period. Carnegie Investment Counsel’s holdings in Paychex were worth $2,097,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PAYX. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 26.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,710 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $801,000 after purchasing an additional 1,190 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 4,035 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $566,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new position in Paychex during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $3,333,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in Paychex by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 41,081 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,976,000 after purchasing an additional 1,290 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in Paychex by 47.1% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 156,680 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $22,790,000 after buying an additional 50,169 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Paychex news, Director Joseph M. Tucci sold 3,907 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 5.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Trading Up 3.0%

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $110.75 on Tuesday. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $85.45 and a 1 year high of $148.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.68 billion, a PE ratio of 22.65 and a beta of 0.84. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $98.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $98.34. 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 (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 24th. The business services provider reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.01. Paychex had a return on equity of 50.90% and a net margin of 27.03%.The company had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.60 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.19 earnings per share. The company’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, research analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th were paid a dividend of $1.19 per share. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 13th. This is a positive change from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is 97.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PAYX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Paychex from $148.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Citigroup raised shares of Paychex from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $99.00 to $140.00 in a report on Monday, June 15th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Paychex in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Paychex currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $105.80.

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.