Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. Lowers Position in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. decreased its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 38.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 52,619 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 33,342 shares during the quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $5,903,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Winthrop Partners WNY LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at about $535,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 811,295 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $91,012,000 after buying an additional 24,053 shares in the last quarter. Union Savings Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the fourth quarter worth about $126,000. Bayban bought a new position in Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $68,000. Finally, Pure Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Paychex by 15.5% during the 4th quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,601 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $516,000 after buying an additional 617 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Paychex from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Guggenheim assumed coverage on shares of Paychex in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Paychex from $148.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Paychex to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $105.67.

Paychex Trading Up 3.3%

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $99.90 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $35.79 billion, a PE ratio of 20.43 and a beta of 0.84. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $85.45 and a 1 year high of $148.76. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $95.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $99.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, June 24th. The business services provider reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.60 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 50.90% and a net margin of 27.03%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.19 EPS. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.900-6.010 EPS. Research analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th were paid a dividend of $1.19 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 13th. This is a positive change from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.8%. Paychex’s payout ratio is presently 104.85%.

Paychex Company 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.