M Holdings Securities Inc. Acquires New Shares in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

M Holdings Securities Inc. bought a new position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 8,201 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $808,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 6.3% during the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,519 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $149,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. United Community Bank boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. United Community Bank now owns 3,635 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $357,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC now owns 2,678 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $247,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 45.5% in the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 400 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC now owns 3,551 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $350,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price target on shares of Paychex from $112.00 to $96.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a report on Thursday, September 24th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Paychex in a report on Thursday, September 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Paychex from $95.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Paychex from $120.00 to $110.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $115.93.

Paychex Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX opened at $116.20 on Wednesday. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $85.45 and a 12-month high of $127.98. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $111.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $103.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The company has a market cap of $41.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.81.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.02. Paychex had a net margin of 27.35% and a return on equity of 52.78%. The firm had revenue of $1.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.63 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.22 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.896-6.006 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 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 25th. Investors of record on Monday, October 26th will be issued a $1.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 26th. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 94.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In related news, Director Joseph Velli sold 7,839 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.68, for a total value of $844,103.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 81,725 shares in the company, valued at $8,800,148. The trade was a 8.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Paychex

Paychex, Inc. provides payroll, human resources and employee benefits solutions to businesses of varying sizes. Its services include payroll processing, tax administration, time and attendance tools, HR support, employee benefits, retirement services and business insurance. The company also offers professional employer organization services, which let businesses outsource certain employment responsibilities, as well as technology for workforce management, recruiting and compliance. Paychex primarily serves employers in the United States and supports businesses with international workforce needs.