Paychex, Inc. $PAYX Shares Purchased by Inspire Investing LLC

Inspire Investing LLC grew its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 14.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 38,054 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,784 shares during the quarter. Paychex comprises approximately 0.6% of Inspire Investing LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $5,535,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 1st quarter worth $34,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. Tsfg LLC increased its position in shares of Paychex by 122.3% during the 1st quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 229 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nova Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 1st quarter worth about $38,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Paychex from $153.00 to $148.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Weiss Ratings raised Paychex from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Argus dropped their target price on Paychex from $170.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Wolfe Research dropped their target price on Paychex from $145.00 to $140.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Paychex from $148.00 to $132.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $141.29.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of 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 quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The company has a market capitalization of $45.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.92. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $119.02 and a 52-week high of $161.24.

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

Paychex Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Paychex 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Paychex 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.