Ascent Group LLC Buys 1,196 Shares of Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Ascent Group LLC increased its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 8.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 14,939 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,196 shares during the quarter. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $2,173,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. New Century Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Paychex in the 2nd quarter worth $239,000. Two Point Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Paychex in the 2nd quarter worth $8,761,000. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management raised its holdings in Paychex by 7.2% in the 2nd quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 72,087 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $10,486,000 after purchasing an additional 4,852 shares during the period. Mattern Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Paychex by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Mattern Capital Management LLC now owns 63,344 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $9,214,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares during the period. Finally, Hilltop National Bank bought a new position in Paychex in the 2nd quarter worth $1,211,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Paychex Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $124.61 on Friday. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $119.02 and a 1 year high of $161.24. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $135.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $144.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.85 billion, a PE ratio of 28.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.28.

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

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 21st were given a dividend of $1.08 per share. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 21st. Paychex’s payout ratio is 97.08%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Paychex from $143.00 to $140.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Barclays set a $155.00 price target on Paychex and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $130.00 price target on Paychex in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $165.00 price target on Paychex and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Paychex in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $142.77.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In related news, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.92, for a total value of $1,755,550.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 81,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,602,669.60. The trade was a 13.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.17, for a total value of $14,157,849.42. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 446,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $64,878,940.89. The trade was a 17.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.