Empirical Asset Management LLC Sells 3,642 Shares of Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Key Points

• Empirical Asset Management LLC has reduced its stake in Paychex, Inc. by 34.9%, selling 3,642 shares in the second quarter, leaving them with 6,801 shares valued at approximately $989,000.
• Paychex reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.20, and announced a quarterly dividend of $1.08 per share with a yield of 3.4%.
• The company's current market capitalization is $45.52 billion, with shares recently trading at $126.49, reflecting a slight decline of 0.8%.

Empirical Asset Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 34.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,801 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 3,642 shares during the period. Empirical Asset Management LLC's holdings in Paychex were worth $989,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Paychex by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,807,843 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,907,314,000 after acquiring an additional 286,818 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Paychex by 7.3% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,782,173 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,663,474,000 after buying an additional 737,542 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Paychex by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,989,182 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $769,731,000 after buying an additional 181,628 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Paychex by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,135,296 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $637,993,000 after buying an additional 30,670 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Select Equity Group L.P. grew its position in shares of Paychex by 99.0% in the 1st quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 3,494,312 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $539,102,000 after buying an additional 1,738,372 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Paychex Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $126.49 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $45.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The business's 50-day moving average is $132.81 and its 200-day moving average is $143.06. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $119.02 and a 1 year high of $161.24.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 30th. The business services provider reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.02. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.17% and a net margin of 27.85%.The company had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.16 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.428-5.528 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Investors of record on Friday, November 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.08 per share. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 7th. Paychex's dividend payout ratio is 97.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on PAYX shares. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $165.00 price target on Paychex and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Paychex from $142.00 to $137.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Weiss Ratings upgraded Paychex from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Paychex from $158.00 to $148.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Argus dropped their price objective on Paychex from $170.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $141.29.

About Paychex

Paychex, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides integrated human capital management solutions (HCM) for payroll, benefits, human resources (HR), and insurance services for small to medium-sized businesses in the United States, Europe, and India. It offers payroll processing services; payroll tax administration services; employee payment services; and regulatory compliance services, such as new-hire reporting and garnishment processing.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.