UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp Has $326,000 Position in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp lowered its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 26.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 2,238 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 798 shares during the period. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp’s holdings in Paychex were worth $326,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the first quarter valued at about $34,000. Nova Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Paychex in the first quarter worth about $38,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its position in Paychex by 94.0% in the second quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 293 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC raised its position in Paychex by 32.5% in the second quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 379 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Olde Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Paychex in the first quarter worth about $59,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of Paychex stock opened at $117.23 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $42.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.92. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $116.82 and a 1-year high of $161.24. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $129.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $141.53.

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

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 7th. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 97.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PAYX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Paychex from $132.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Paychex to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Paychex from $143.00 to $140.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Paychex from $153.00 to $148.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Paychex in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $139.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target 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.