Welch & Forbes LLC Trims Holdings in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Welch & Forbes LLC trimmed its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 373,828 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 4,883 shares during the quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC owned about 0.10% of Paychex worth $54,377,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Paychex during the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Nova Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Paychex during the first quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its position in Paychex by 94.0% during the second quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 293 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC raised its position in Paychex by 32.5% during the second quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 379 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Olde Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex in the first quarter valued at approximately $59,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PAYX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Paychex from $132.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Citigroup initiated coverage on Paychex in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $139.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Paychex from $153.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Weiss Ratings raised Paychex from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Paychex from $142.00 to $137.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $139.87.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $117.03 on Friday. 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 business’s 50 day moving average price is $129.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $141.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.12 billion, a PE ratio of 26.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.92. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $116.08 and a 1 year high of $161.24.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 30th. The business services provider reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.16 earnings per share. The firm’s 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. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Investors of record on Friday, November 7th will be given a dividend of $1.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 7th. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 97.08%.

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.