Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY Lowers Stake in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY lowered its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 6.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 50,643 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,718 shares during the quarter. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY’s holdings in Paychex were worth $7,367,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Paychex in the 1st quarter worth $34,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Paychex in the 1st quarter worth $34,000. Tsfg LLC raised its position in Paychex by 122.3% in the 1st quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 229 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. Nova Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Paychex in the 1st quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its position in Paychex by 94.0% in the 2nd quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 293 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of Paychex stock opened at $124.60 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $44.84 billion, a PE ratio of 28.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.92. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $119.02 and a 12-month 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 company’s fifty day simple moving average is $131.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $142.19.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 30th. The business services provider reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.54 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 27.85% and a return on equity of 45.17%. The company’s revenue was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.16 EPS. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.428-5.528 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

PAYX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group set a $130.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Paychex to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Paychex from $142.00 to $137.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Paychex from $153.00 to $148.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $132.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus 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.