GRIMES & Co WEALTH MANAGEMENT LLC Sells 34,201 Shares of Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

GRIMES & Co WEALTH MANAGEMENT LLC lowered its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 76.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 10,270 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 34,201 shares during the quarter. GRIMES & Co WEALTH MANAGEMENT LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $1,012,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PAYX. Leonteq Securities AG increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 2,669.2% during the first quarter. Leonteq Securities AG now owns 360 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 347 shares during the period. Field & Main Bank purchased a new stake in Paychex in the second quarter worth $33,000. Castleark Management LLC bought a new stake in Paychex in the second quarter valued at $35,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Paychex by 45.5% in the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 400 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Latitude Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Paychex in the third quarter valued at $41,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Paychex from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $105.00 to $115.00 in a report on Thursday, September 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price objective on Paychex from $112.00 to $96.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 28th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, October 16th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upgraded Paychex from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $210.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $127.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Joseph Velli sold 7,839 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.68, for a total value of $844,103.52. Following the sale, the director directly owned 81,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,800,148. This represents a 8.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Paychex Price Performance

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $118.71 on Thursday. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $85.45 and a 52 week high of $127.98. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $112.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $103.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The stock has a market cap of $42.26 billion, a PE ratio of 20.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.81.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.63 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 27.35% and a return on equity of 52.78%. Paychex’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.22 EPS. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.896-6.006 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 25th. Investors of record on Monday, October 26th will be given a $1.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 26th. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 94.44%.

About Paychex

Paychex, Inc provides payroll, human resources and employee-benefits solutions to small and medium-sized businesses. Its offerings include payroll processing, tax administration, time and attendance management, recruiting, onboarding, human resources administration, compliance support and employee benefits services.

The company also provides retirement-plan services, insurance solutions and professional employer organization services. Through its software and outsourced services, Paychex helps employers manage workforce administration, employee data and regulatory requirements.

Paychex was founded in 1971 by B.