Paychex, Inc. $PAYX Shares Purchased by Range Financial Group LLC

Range Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 5.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,512 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 325 shares during the period. Range Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $947,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. Tsfg LLC lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 122.3% during the 1st quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 229 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nova Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 1st quarter valued at $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Trading Down 2.3%

NASDAQ PAYX opened at $131.97 on Tuesday. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $131.77 and a 1-year high of $161.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. The company has a market capitalization of $47.46 billion, a PE ratio of 28.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.91. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $140.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $146.38.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The business services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19. Paychex had a net margin of 29.75% and a return on equity of 45.01%. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.38 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.12 earnings per share. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 21st were given a dividend of $1.08 per share. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 21st. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 94.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on PAYX shares. Barclays set a $155.00 price objective on Paychex and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Paychex from $148.00 to $153.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Paychex from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Paychex from $150.00 to $148.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $165.00 target price on Paychex and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $149.70.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In other Paychex news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.17, for a total transaction of $14,157,849.42. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 446,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $64,878,940.89. This represents a 17.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.92, for a total transaction of $1,755,550.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 81,755 shares in the company, valued at $11,602,669.60. The trade was a 13.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

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.