Paychex, Inc. $PAYX Shares Sold by First Horizon Corp

First Horizon Corp reduced its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 65.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,067 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 7,793 shares during the period. First Horizon Corp’s holdings in Paychex were worth $375,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PAYX. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Stance Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp acquired a new stake in Paychex in the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 957.1% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 296 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In other Paychex news, Director Joseph M. Tucci sold 3,907 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.25, for a total transaction of $383,862.75. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 67,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,618,513. The trade was a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on PAYX. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Paychex from $116.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 26th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Paychex to $52.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Guggenheim began coverage on Paychex in a report on Thursday, March 19th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Paychex from $100.00 to $98.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $105.80.

More Paychex News

Here are the key news stories impacting Paychex this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research lifted multiple earnings estimates for Paychex (PAYX), including FY2027 and FY2029, signaling improved profit expectations and a potentially supportive outlook for the stock.
• Positive Sentiment: Paychex was highlighted among the Nasdaq 100’s highest-yielding stocks, which may attract income-focused investors looking for defensive dividend names.
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data showed no reported short interest, so there is no clear evidence of a meaningful bearish positioning shift in the shares.
• Negative Sentiment: A separate article said Paychex (PAYX) could be as much as 38% below fair value after removal from the Russell Growth Index, suggesting the recent move may be partly tied to index-related repricing and raising valuation concerns. Article Title

Paychex Trading Up 1.2%

Paychex stock traded up $1.28 during trading on Friday, reaching $107.54. 2,179,668 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,609,491. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $85.45 and a 52-week high of $148.11. The company has a market capitalization of $38.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.99 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $98.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $98.48.

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

Paychex Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 13th were issued a $1.19 dividend. This is an increase from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 13th. Paychex’s payout ratio is currently 97.34%.

About Paychex

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.