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

Carnegie Investment Counsel reduced its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 10.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 10,909 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,336 shares during the quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel’s holdings in Paychex were worth $1,587,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principle Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Paychex in the 2nd quarter valued at $457,000. Ethic Inc. increased its stake in Paychex by 9.2% in the 2nd quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 62,104 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,939,000 after buying an additional 5,208 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management increased its stake in Paychex by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 16,857 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,452,000 after buying an additional 214 shares during the period. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased its stake in Paychex by 42.6% in the 2nd quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 2,525 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $367,000 after buying an additional 754 shares during the period. Finally, Lafayette Investments Inc. increased its stake in Paychex by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Lafayette Investments Inc. now owns 88,064 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $12,810,000 after buying an additional 1,242 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paychex Price Performance

Paychex stock opened at $124.60 on Friday. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $119.02 and a 52 week high of $161.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $131.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $142.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.84 billion, a PE ratio of 28.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.92.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 30th. The business services provider reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.02. Paychex had a net margin of 27.85% and a return on equity of 45.17%. The business had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.16 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.428-5.528 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Investors of record on Friday, November 7th will be given a $1.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 7th. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Paychex’s payout ratio is currently 97.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PAYX has been the topic of several recent research reports. Stephens raised shares of Paychex to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Wolfe Research dropped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $145.00 to $140.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 26th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $132.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $130.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $132.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $139.87.

Paychex Company Profile

Paychex, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides integrated human capital management solutions (HCM) for payroll, benefits, human resources (HR), and insurance services for small to medium-sized businesses in the United States, Europe, and India. It offers payroll processing services; payroll tax administration services; employee payment services; and regulatory compliance services, such as new-hire reporting and garnishment processing.