Conning Inc. Sells 16,779 Shares of Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Conning Inc. decreased its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 7.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 215,073 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 16,779 shares during the period. Conning Inc. owned about 0.06% of Paychex worth $31,285,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. Select Equity Group L.P. boosted its holdings in Paychex by 99.0% in the first quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 3,494,312 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $539,102,000 after acquiring an additional 1,738,372 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Paychex in the first quarter valued at $134,192,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Paychex by 7.3% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,782,173 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,663,474,000 after acquiring an additional 737,542 shares in the last quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC boosted its holdings in Paychex by 117.6% in the first quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 1,217,092 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $187,512,000 after acquiring an additional 657,871 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Paychex by 25.7% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,844,949 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $438,919,000 after acquiring an additional 581,410 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Price Performance

PAYX opened at $125.55 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $133.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $143.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The firm has a market cap of $45.18 billion, a PE ratio of 28.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.92. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $119.02 and a 1 year high of $161.24.

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

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 7th will be given a $1.08 dividend. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 7th. Paychex’s payout ratio is currently 97.08%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Paychex from $143.00 to $140.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Paychex from $158.00 to $148.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Paychex from $142.00 to $137.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Paychex from $140.00 to $126.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $130.00 price objective on Paychex in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $141.29.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 81,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,602,669.60. The trade was a 13.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Paychex

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.