Heritage Financial Services LLC Acquires New Stake in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Heritage Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 3,932 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $607,000.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of PAYX. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new position in Paychex in the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex during the first quarter worth $34,000. Tsfg LLC lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 122.3% during the first quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 229 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter worth $44,000. Finally, HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex during the first quarter worth $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 81,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,602,669.60. This represents a 13.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.17, for a total value of $14,157,849.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 446,917 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,878,940.89. This represents a 17.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 11.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on PAYX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Paychex from $148.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Barclays set a $155.00 target price on Paychex and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Paychex from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Paychex in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $160.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Paychex from $150.00 to $148.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 27th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $150.70.

Paychex Trading Up 1.0%

Paychex stock opened at $139.01 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $50.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.42, a PEG ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.28. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $124.64 and a fifty-two week high of $161.24. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $144.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $147.98.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The business services provider reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.38 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.01% and a net margin of 29.75%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.12 earnings per share. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st will be paid a $1.08 dividend. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 94.53%.

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.