Clarkston Capital Partners LLC Sells 178,288 Shares of Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Clarkston Capital Partners LLC reduced its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 90.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 19,608 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 178,288 shares during the quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC's holdings in Paychex were worth $1,806,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Paychex by 26.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,710 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $801,000 after acquiring an additional 1,190 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 4,035 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $566,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Paychex during the 1st quarter worth about $3,333,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 41,081 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $5,976,000 after buying an additional 1,290 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its position in Paychex by 47.1% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 156,680 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $22,790,000 after buying an additional 50,169 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on PAYX. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Paychex from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating on shares of Paychex in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Paychex from $116.00 to $95.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Paychex to $52.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "underweight" rating and set a $107.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $107.53.

Paychex Trading Down 0.1%

NASDAQ PAYX opened at $110.66 on Friday. The business's fifty day moving average is $101.69 and its 200-day moving average is $98.30. 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 $39.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.63 and a beta of 0.84. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $85.45 and a one year high of $148.11.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 24th. The business services provider reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.61 billion during 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 revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.19 earnings per share. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.900-6.010 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 28th will be issued a $1.19 dividend. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 28th. Paychex's dividend payout ratio is presently 97.34%.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In related news, Director Joseph M. Tucci sold 3,907 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.25, for a total transaction of $383,862.75. Following the sale, the director owned 67,364 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,618,513. This represents a 5.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Paychex 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.

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