Paychex, Inc. $PAYX Shares Sold by Kestra Advisory Services LLC

Kestra Advisory Services LLC lessened its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 15.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 41,366 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 7,440 shares during the quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $3,811,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of Paychex by 59.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 30,265,174 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,395,583,000 after purchasing an additional 11,243,295 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,348,625 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,750,669,000 after purchasing an additional 4,583,157 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 4,141.2% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,409,229 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $270,267,000 after buying an additional 2,352,423 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at about $257,699,000. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $117,809,000. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Paychex from $116.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Paychex from $148.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Paychex in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective 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, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Paychex in a report on Friday, April 24th. One investment 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 given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $105.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Paychex news, Director Joseph M. Tucci sold 3,907 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.25, for a total value of $383,862.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 67,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,618,513. The trade was a 5.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Paychex Stock Performance

NASDAQ PAYX opened at $114.39 on Friday. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $85.45 and a twelve month high of $148.11. 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 company’s 50-day simple moving average is $100.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $98.39. The stock has a market cap of $40.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.39 and a beta of 0.84.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 24th. The business services provider reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.60 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 50.90% and a net margin of 27.03%.Paychex’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.19 EPS. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.900-6.010 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 28th will be issued a dividend of $1.19 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 28th. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.2%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 97.34%.

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.