Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. Has $828,000 Holdings in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. trimmed its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 36.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,425 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 4,837 shares during the quarter. Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $828,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Paychex by 26.3% during the 4th 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 grew its position in 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 bought a new position in shares of Paychex during the 1st quarter worth about $3,333,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 3.2% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 41,081 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,976,000 after buying an additional 1,290 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 47.1% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 156,680 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $22,790,000 after buying an additional 50,169 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Paychex from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Paychex from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of Paychex in a report on Thursday, May 28th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Paychex from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Paychex from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Paychex has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $111.00.

Paychex Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $116.93 on Wednesday. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $85.45 and a 12-month high of $135.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.59 billion, a PE ratio of 23.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.82. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $117.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $102.38.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released 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 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 the consensus estimate of $1.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.19 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.900-6.010 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 28th were given a dividend of $1.19 per share. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 28th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 97.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In other Paychex news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 2,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.09, for a total transaction of $299,234.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,547 shares in the company, valued at $2,134,574.23. This represents a 12.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Joseph M. Tucci sold 3,907 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.25, for a total value of $383,862.75. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 67,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,618,513. The trade was a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Paychex

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.