Paychex, Inc. $PAYX Stock: Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Decreases Stake

Key Points

• Commonwealth Equity Services cut its Paychex stake by 4.6% in the third quarter, selling 11,272 shares and retaining 233,522 shares valued at about $23 million.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly neutral: Paychex has a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $115.93, with recent target changes and ratings mixed.
• Paychex reported quarterly EPS of $1.34, above the $1.32 estimate, while revenue grew 5.9% year over year. Its quarterly dividend of $1.19 implies an annualized yield of about 4.1%.

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 233,522 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 11,272 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Paychex worth $23,002,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. EFG International AG purchased a new position in shares of Paychex during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,494,000. Western Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,174,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Paychex in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $7,296,000. Callan Family Office LLC bought a new stake in Paychex during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,928,000. Finally, Hourglass Capital LLC bought a new stake in Paychex during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $5,776,000. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Joseph Velli sold 7,839 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.68, for a total transaction of $844,103.52. Following the sale, the director directly owned 81,725 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,800,148. This represents a 8.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PAYX has been the topic of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Paychex from $118.00 to $113.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 24th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, October 16th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $117.00 to $105.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Paychex from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $105.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Paychex currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $115.93.

Paychex Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of Paychex stock opened at $114.76 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $40.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.08, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.81. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $111.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $103.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $85.45 and a twelve month high of $127.98.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, September 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.02. Paychex had a return on equity of 52.78% and a net margin of 27.35%. The firm had revenue of $1.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.63 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.22 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.896-6.006 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 26th will be paid a $1.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 26th. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. Paychex's payout ratio is presently 94.44%.

Paychex Profile

Paychex, Inc provides payroll, human resources and employee benefits solutions to businesses of varying sizes. Its services include payroll processing, tax administration, time and attendance tools, HR support, employee benefits, retirement services and business insurance.

The company also offers professional employer organization services, which let businesses outsource certain employment responsibilities, as well as technology for workforce management, recruiting and compliance. Paychex primarily serves employers in the United States and supports businesses with international workforce needs.

Founded in Rochester, New York, in 1971 by B.

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