Paychex, Inc. $PAYX Shares Purchased by Kanawha Capital Management LLC

Kanawha Capital Management LLC increased its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 15.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,952 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 651 shares during the period. Kanawha Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $720,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PAYX. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 26.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,710 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $801,000 after buying an additional 1,190 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 4,035 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $566,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 31.8% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,474 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,153,000 after acquiring an additional 1,804 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Paychex by 32.6% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 119,291 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $18,404,000 after purchasing an additional 29,320 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sowell Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Paychex in the first quarter worth $421,000. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on PAYX shares. Jefferies Financial Group set a $130.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Paychex from $143.00 to $140.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $153.00 to $148.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $153.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Paychex from $158.00 to $148.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $141.29.

Paychex Stock Up 0.1%

Paychex stock opened at $126.56 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $45.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.92. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $119.02 and a 1-year high of $161.24. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $132.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $142.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

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

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 7th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 97.08%.

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.