Equitable Holdings Inc. Invests $1.30 Million in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Equitable Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 13,189 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,297,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its holdings in Paychex by 957.1% in the 4th 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. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Leonteq Securities AG increased its position in shares of Paychex by 2,669.2% during the first quarter. Leonteq Securities AG now owns 360 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 347 shares during the period. Finally, Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Paychex in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 2,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.09, for a total value of $299,234.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 18,547 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,134,574.23. This represents a 12.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $383,862.75. Following the sale, the director owned 67,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,618,513. The trade was a 5.48% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of PAYX opened at $127.04 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $45.19 billion, a PE ratio of 25.98 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $85.45 and a fifty-two week high of $139.53. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $113.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $100.95.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released 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 net margin of 27.03% and a return on equity of 50.90%. The firm had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.60 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.19 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.900-6.010 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 28th were issued a $1.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 28th. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. Paychex’s payout ratio is 97.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on PAYX. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Paychex from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Paychex from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Paychex from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Weiss Ratings raised Paychex from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Paychex in a report on Thursday, May 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $109.20.

Paychex 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.