Bessemer Group Inc. Reduces Holdings in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Bessemer Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 31.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,133 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 7,795 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $2,492,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Schmidt P J Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Paychex by 4.0% during the second quarter. Schmidt P J Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,291 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $479,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Paychex by 18.9% during the second quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 11,893 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,730,000 after buying an additional 1,890 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Paychex by 0.5% during the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 108,609 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $15,798,000 after buying an additional 489 shares during the period. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Paychex by 94.0% during the second quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 293 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the period. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Paychex by 1.0% during the second quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,954 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,012,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Paychex Stock Down 5.4%

Shares of PAYX opened at $117.40 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $130.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $141.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.92. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $117.00 and a 12-month high of $161.24.

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

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Investors of record on Friday, November 7th will be issued a $1.08 dividend. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 7th. Paychex’s payout ratio is presently 97.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Argus dropped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $170.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Wolfe Research lowered their target price on shares of Paychex from $145.00 to $140.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Paychex from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $130.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Paychex to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $139.87.

Paychex 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.