20,059 Paychex, Inc. $PAYX Shares Acquired by Optimist Retirement Group LLC

Optimist Retirement Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 546.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,732 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,059 shares during the quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $2,338,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,728,970,000. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Paychex by 2.6% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,411,341 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,417,067,000 after buying an additional 361,713 shares during the period. XXEC Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Paychex during the second quarter valued at about $1,123,016,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of Paychex during the second quarter valued at about $434,061,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in Paychex by 13.5% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,344,056 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $215,934,000 after buying an additional 278,507 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Paychex news, Director Joseph Velli sold 7,839 shares of the company’s 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 owned 81,725 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,800,148. This represents a 8.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on PAYX. Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Paychex in a report on Thursday, September 17th. Wolfe Research raised Paychex from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 16th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Paychex from $120.00 to $110.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 24th. Stephens reduced their target price on Paychex from $132.00 to $113.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Paychex from $95.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $127.88.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $118.71 on Thursday. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $85.45 and a 12 month high of $127.98. The stock has a market cap of $42.26 billion, a PE ratio of 23.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $112.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $103.69.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, September 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.02. The firm 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%. The company’s revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.22 EPS. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.896-6.006 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 25th. Investors of record on Monday, October 26th will be paid a dividend of $1.19 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 26th. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. Paychex’s payout ratio is presently 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.