Wealth Alliance LLC Acquires 6,490 Shares of Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Wealth Alliance LLC raised its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 56.3% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund 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 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

Paychex Stock Performance

NASDAQ PAYX opened at $113.55 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $40.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.22 and a beta of 0.84. 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 business’s 50 day moving average price is $102.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $98.40. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $85.45 and a fifty-two week high of $148.11.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 24th. The business services provider reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.60 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 50.90% and a net margin of 27.03%.Paychex’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.19 EPS. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.900-6.010 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on PAYX. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Paychex in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Paychex from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Argus raised shares of Paychex to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued 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 has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $107.53.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

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

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.