Wellington Management Group LLP Reduces Stock Position in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Key Points

• Wellington Management cut its Paychex position by 51% in the second quarter, selling 47,247 shares and retaining 45,342 shares valued at approximately $4.46 million. Institutional investors collectively own 83.47% of Paychex.
• Analysts remain mixed, with Paychex carrying an overall “Hold” rating and an average price target of $125.65. Recent targets ranged from $98 to $225, including a “Buy” rating from Citigroup and “Neutral” or “Hold” ratings from other firms.
• Paychex exceeded quarterly earnings expectations with $1.32 EPS and $1.61 billion in revenue, up 12.5% year over year. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $1.19 per share, equivalent to a 4.1% annualized yield.

Wellington Management Group LLP decreased its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 51.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 45,342 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 47,247 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP's holdings in Paychex were worth $4,458,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. 44 Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 2.7% during the second quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,290 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $479,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Paychex by 3.5% in the second quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,645 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $381,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC increased its position in Paychex by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 7,270 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $922,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Zacks Investment Management increased its position in Paychex by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 2,094 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $265,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. Finally, Armbruster Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Paychex by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Armbruster Capital Management Inc. now owns 20,299 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,870,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Paychex news, Director Joseph Tucci sold 3,907 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.25, for a total value of $383,862.75. Following the sale, the director directly owned 67,364 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,618,513. The trade was a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Robert Schrader sold 2,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.09, for a total value of $299,234.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,547 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,134,574.23. This represents a 12.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on PAYX. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Paychex from $450.00 to $225.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Paychex from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating on shares of Paychex in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Paychex from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Paychex presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $125.65.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $114.75 on Thursday. The company's fifty day moving average price is $117.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $102.54. The stock has a market cap of $40.81 billion, a PE ratio of 23.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $85.45 and a 12 month high of $135.97.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 24th. The business services provider reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.01. Paychex had a net margin of 27.03% and a return on equity of 50.90%. The company had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.60 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.19 EPS. Paychex's quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.900-6.010 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 28th were given 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 of this dividend was Tuesday, July 28th. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 97.34%.

Paychex Profile

Paychex, Inc is a provider of payroll, human resources, and workforce management solutions for businesses of varying sizes. Its offerings include payroll processing, tax administration, time and attendance tracking, employee benefits administration, retirement services, workers' compensation and business insurance, recruiting, and compliance support.

The company also provides professional employer organization services, helping businesses manage employment administration and human resources through an integrated platform.

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