Paychex, Inc. $PAYX Shares Sold by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System lowered its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 24.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,031,353 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 329,241 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Paychex were worth $95,008,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PAYX. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its holdings in Paychex by 957.1% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 296 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the period. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Paychex during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. purchased a new stake in Paychex during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Leonteq Securities AG increased its holdings in Paychex by 2,669.2% during the 1st quarter. Leonteq Securities AG now owns 360 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares during the period. Finally, Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on PAYX shares. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Paychex from $148.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Paychex from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Citigroup raised shares of Paychex from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $99.00 to $140.00 in a report on Monday, June 15th. Stephens decreased their price target on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Paychex to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $105.80.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX opened at $114.39 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $40.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.39 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $100.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $98.28. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $85.45 and a 1 year high of $148.11.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 50.90% and a net margin of 27.03%.The business 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 firm posted $1.19 EPS. The business’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, analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 28th will be issued a $1.19 dividend. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 28th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is 97.34%.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In other Paychex news, Director Joseph M. Tucci sold 3,907 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.25, for a total value of $383,862.75. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 67,364 shares in the company, valued at $6,618,513. This represents a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.