Conning Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Conning Inc. decreased its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 7.2% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 215,073 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 16,779 shares during the period. Conning Inc.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $31,285,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PAYX. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new position in Paychex in the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Paychex in the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Paychex in the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. Tsfg LLC grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. Finally, Nova Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 1st quarter valued at about $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Paychex news, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.92, for a total value of $1,755,550.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 81,755 shares in the company, valued at $11,602,669.60. This represents a 13.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Paychex Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $125.55 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $133.78 and a 200 day moving average of $143.73. The company has a market cap of $45.18 billion, a PE ratio of 28.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $119.02 and a 12-month high of $161.24.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 30th. The business services provider reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.02. The company 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 revenue was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.16 EPS. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.428-5.528 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 7th will be paid a $1.08 dividend. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 7th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 97.08%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on PAYX. Stephens upgraded Paychex to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. TD Cowen cut their price target on Paychex from $140.00 to $126.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Citigroup cut their price target on Paychex from $158.00 to $148.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Barclays set a $155.00 price target on Paychex and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $165.00 price target on Paychex and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $141.29.

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.