Paychex, Inc. $PAYX Stock Sold by Boston Trust Walden Corp

Boston Trust Walden Corp lowered its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 11.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 108,880 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 14,501 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp’s holdings in Paychex were worth $10,725,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Leonteq Securities AG lifted its stake in Paychex by 2,669.2% in the first quarter. Leonteq Securities AG now owns 360 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares during the last quarter. Field & Main Bank purchased a new stake in Paychex during the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Castleark Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Paychex during the second quarter valued at about $35,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 45.5% during the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 400 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Latitude Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex in the third quarter worth about $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In other Paychex news, Director Joseph Velli sold 7,839 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 81,725 shares in the company, valued at $8,800,148. This trade represents a 8.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PAYX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wolfe Research raised Paychex from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their target price on Paychex from $112.00 to $96.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Paychex from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $105.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $112.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Paychex in a report on Thursday, September 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued 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, Paychex has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $127.88.

Paychex Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of Paychex stock opened at $119.50 on Friday. 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 simple moving average is $112.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $103.73. The company has a market cap of $42.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.08, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.81. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $85.45 and a 12-month high of $127.98.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.02. Paychex had a net margin of 27.35% and a return on equity of 52.78%. The business had revenue of $1.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.63 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.22 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.896-6.006 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

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 paid a $1.19 dividend. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 26th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 94.44%.

Paychex Profile

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.