Paychex, Inc. $PAYX Shares Sold by Sterling Capital Management LLC

Sterling Capital Management LLC lessened its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 40.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,215 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 5,677 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $757,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 4,583,157 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its position in Paychex by 59.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 30,265,174 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,395,583,000 after purchasing an additional 11,243,295 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Paychex by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,988,393 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,569,218,000 after purchasing an additional 216,045 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Paychex by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,550,173 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,295,698,000 after purchasing an additional 263,152 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Paychex by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,705,424 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,093,958,000 after purchasing an additional 78,760 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PAYX has been the subject of a number of research reports. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Paychex from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Paychex from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Argus raised Paychex to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Paychex from $116.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $105.80.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Joseph M. Tucci sold 3,907 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.25, for a total transaction of $383,862.75. Following the sale, the director owned 67,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,618,513. The trade was a 5.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $102.71 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $85.45 and a fifty-two week high of $148.11. The stock has a market cap of $36.80 billion, a PE ratio of 21.00 and a beta of 0.83. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $96.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $98.77.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 24th. The business services provider reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.60 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 27.03% and a return on equity of 50.90%. The business’s revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.19 EPS. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.900-6.010 EPS. Analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th were given a dividend of $1.19 per share. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 13th. This is a positive change from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. Paychex’s payout ratio is 97.34%.

Paychex Profile

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.