Paychex, Inc. $PAYX Shares Sold by Clarkston Capital Partners LLC

Clarkston Capital Partners LLC reduced its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 204,137 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 4,873 shares during the quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC owned 0.06% of Paychex worth $29,694,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. LGT Group Foundation lifted its stake in Paychex by 2.8% during the first quarter. LGT Group Foundation now owns 2,528 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $390,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,954 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,012,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. King Wealth Management Group lifted its stake in Paychex by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. King Wealth Management Group now owns 1,669 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $257,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. boosted its holdings in Paychex by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 2,305 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $335,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC boosted its holdings in Paychex by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 11,267 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,639,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Trading Down 0.6%

NASDAQ PAYX opened at $111.41 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $108.00 and a 52 week high of $161.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.10 billion, a PE ratio of 25.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.93. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $120.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $136.73.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 30th. The business services provider reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.54 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 27.85% and a return on equity of 45.17%. The company’s revenue was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.16 EPS. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.428-5.528 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 7th were issued a dividend of $1.08 per share. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 7th. Paychex’s payout ratio is 97.08%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PAYX has been the topic of several research reports. Wolfe Research reduced their price target on shares of Paychex from $145.00 to $140.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Paychex from $132.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $130.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Paychex in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $139.00 price target for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Paychex from $142.00 to $137.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Paychex presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $139.87.

Paychex Company Profile

Paychex, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides integrated human capital management solutions (HCM) for payroll, benefits, human resources (HR), and insurance services for small to medium-sized businesses in the United States, Europe, and India. It offers payroll processing services; payroll tax administration services; employee payment services; and regulatory compliance services, such as new-hire reporting and garnishment processing.