Paychex, Inc. $PAYX Shares Sold by Verdence Capital Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Verdence Capital Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Paychex, Inc. by 32.3%, selling 3,716 shares and reducing their total holdings to 7,784 shares valued at approximately $1,132,000.
• Paychex recently reported quarterly earnings of $1.22 per share, surpassing analyst estimates, with a revenue increase of 16.8% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.08 per share, payable on November 26, 2023, which reflects a 3.4% yield and a payout ratio of 97.08%.

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC cut its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 32.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,784 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 3,716 shares during the quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Paychex were worth $1,132,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Paychex by 7.0% during the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 65,697 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $9,556,000 after purchasing an additional 4,304 shares during the period. MOKAN Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 7.3% in the 2nd quarter. MOKAN Wealth Management Inc. now owns 8,929 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,300,000 after acquiring an additional 604 shares during the last quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 74.0% in the 2nd quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 1,244 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $181,000 after acquiring an additional 529 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 7.2% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 19,788 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,878,000 after acquiring an additional 1,322 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 31.1% in the 2nd quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management now owns 666 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $97,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on PAYX shares. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Paychex from $153.00 to $148.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Citigroup decreased their target price on Paychex from $158.00 to $148.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Barclays set a $155.00 target price on Paychex and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Paychex from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price target on Paychex from $140.00 to $126.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $141.29.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In related news, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.92, for a total transaction of $1,755,550.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 81,755 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,602,669.60. This trade represents a 13.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $127.42 on Tuesday. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $119.02 and a 1-year high of $161.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The company has a market capitalization of $45.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.92. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $133.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $143.46.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last released 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. The firm had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.54 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.17% and a net margin of 27.85%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.16 earnings per share. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.428-5.528 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

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

Paychex Company Profile

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.

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