Paychex, Inc. $PAYX Shares Sold by Edgestream Partners L.P.

Edgestream Partners L.P. reduced its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 30.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 69,763 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 30,594 shares during the quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $6,427,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Kentucky Retirement Systems raised its position in Paychex by 32.5% in the first quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems now owns 26,835 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,472,000 after purchasing an additional 6,576 shares during the period. Bull Harbor Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the first quarter worth about $644,000. Strategic Investment Advisors MI acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex in the first quarter valued at about $1,205,000. Arkadios Wealth Advisors grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 6.7% in the first quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 72,584 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,686,000 after buying an additional 4,586 shares in the last quarter. Finally, South Dakota Investment Council raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 119.7% during the 1st quarter. South Dakota Investment Council now owns 16,517 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,522,000 after buying an additional 9,000 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In other Paychex news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 2,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.09, for a total transaction of $299,234.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,547 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,134,574.23. This trade represents a 12.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph M. Tucci sold 3,907 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.25, for a total transaction of $383,862.75. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PAYX has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup boosted their price target on Paychex from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Paychex from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $107.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a report on Monday, July 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Paychex presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $108.20.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX opened at $116.33 on Friday. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $85.45 and a fifty-two week high of $146.83. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $104.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $98.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The firm has a market cap of $41.38 billion, a PE ratio of 23.79 and a beta of 0.84.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its 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 analyst estimates of $1.60 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 50.90% and a net margin of 27.03%.Paychex’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.19 EPS. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.900-6.010 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 28th will be paid a dividend of $1.19 per share. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 28th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is 97.34%.

About Paychex

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.