Paychex, Inc. $PAYX Holdings Boosted by Cetera Investment Advisers

Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 38.4% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 269,833 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 74,805 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in Paychex were worth $24,857,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,348,625 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,750,669,000 after purchasing an additional 4,583,157 shares during the period. LBP AM SA boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 125.2% during the fourth quarter. LBP AM SA now owns 40,517 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,545,000 after purchasing an additional 22,527 shares during the period. Tectonic Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 17.4% during the fourth quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 79,708 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,942,000 after purchasing an additional 11,805 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. Danske Bank A S now owns 205,341 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $23,035,000 after purchasing an additional 25,184 shares during the period. Finally, Comerica Bank grew its position in Paychex by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 121,705 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $13,653,000 after purchasing an additional 11,497 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of PAYX opened at $113.55 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market cap of $40.39 billion, a PE ratio of 23.22 and a beta of 0.84. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $102.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $98.32. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $85.45 and a twelve month high of $148.11.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, June 24th. The business services provider reported $1.32 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 the consensus estimate of $1.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.19 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.900-6.010 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 28th. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.2%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 97.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on PAYX shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Paychex in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Paychex from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. TD Cowen upped their price target 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. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $107.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Paychex from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. One 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 given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Paychex currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $107.53.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Paychex news, Director Joseph M. Tucci sold 3,907 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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. This represents a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.80% of the stock is owned by 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.