Wealth Alliance LLC Grows Stake in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Wealth Alliance LLC grew its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 56.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 18,021 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,490 shares during the quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $1,660,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its position in Paychex by 957.1% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Paychex in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. purchased a new position in Paychex in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Leonteq Securities AG lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 2,669.2% in the first quarter. Leonteq Securities AG now owns 360 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 347 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Paychex in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Paychex news, Director Joseph M. Tucci sold 3,907 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.25, for a total value of $383,862.75. Following the transaction, the director owned 67,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,618,513. This represents a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on PAYX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Paychex from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of Paychex in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Citigroup upgraded Paychex from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $99.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Monday, June 15th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Paychex from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Paychex from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday. One 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Paychex has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $107.53.

Paychex Trading Up 2.6%

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $113.55 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $85.45 and a 12-month high of $148.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.22 and a beta of 0.84. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $102.13 and its 200 day moving average is $98.40.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, June 24th. The business services provider reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.60 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 27.03% and a return on equity of 50.90%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period 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 expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

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