Isthmus Partners LLC Makes New Investment in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Isthmus Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 125,487 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $11,560,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PAYX. Seelaus Asset Management LLC raised its position in Paychex by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 5,464 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $503,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC boosted its position in Paychex by 1,037.8% during the first quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 23,324 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,149,000 after buying an additional 21,274 shares during the period. Renasant Bank bought a new position in shares of Paychex during the first quarter valued at about $228,000. Eads & Heald Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Paychex during the first quarter valued at about $237,000. Finally, Jackson Thornton Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex in the first quarter worth about $331,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Paychex

Here are the key news stories impacting Paychex this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research raised multiple EPS estimates for Paychex, including FY2027, FY2028 and FY2029, signaling stronger long-term profit expectations.
• Positive Sentiment: The firm also increased forecasts for several quarterly periods, including Q1 2027, Q2 2027, Q3 2027 and Q4 2028, reinforcing a constructive earnings outlook.
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent commentary highlighted Paychex’s improving small-business hiring trends, AI expansion and workplace recognition, which support the company’s growth narrative. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Some estimates were cut, including Q4 2027, Q1 2028, Q3 2028 and FY2028 EPS, which may temper enthusiasm around near- to mid-term growth.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on PAYX. Citigroup raised Paychex from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $99.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Argus raised Paychex to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Paychex from $116.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Paychex from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on Paychex from $100.00 to $98.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $105.80.

Paychex Stock Down 1.4%

NASDAQ PAYX opened at $106.58 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.19 billion, a PE ratio of 21.80 and a beta of 0.84. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $85.45 and a 1 year high of $148.11. The business’s 50-day moving average is $97.59 and its 200 day moving average is $98.46.

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 company had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.60 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 50.90% and a net margin of 27.03%.Paychex’s revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.19 EPS. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.900-6.010 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th were paid a dividend of $1.19 per share. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.5%. This is a boost from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 13th. Paychex’s payout ratio is presently 97.34%.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In related news, Director Joseph M. Tucci sold 3,907 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the director owned 67,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,618,513. This trade represents a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Paychex Company 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.