Cooper Haims Advisors LLC Sells 16,980 Shares of Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Cooper Haims Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 21.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 61,616 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 16,980 shares during the quarter. Paychex comprises 2.4% of Cooper Haims Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Cooper Haims Advisors LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $6,059,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PAYX. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 26.3% in the 4th 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 during the period. Bison Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Paychex by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 4,035 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $566,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new position in Paychex in the first quarter valued at about $3,333,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in Paychex by 3.2% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 41,081 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,976,000 after acquiring an additional 1,290 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 47.1% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 156,680 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $22,790,000 after acquiring an additional 50,169 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PAYX. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Paychex from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Paychex from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $107.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Paychex from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $109.20.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In other news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 2,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.09, for a total value of $299,234.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 18,547 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,134,574.23. This represents a 12.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph M. Tucci sold 3,907 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.25, for a total transaction of $383,862.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 67,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,618,513. This represents a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of PAYX opened at $127.34 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $85.45 and a twelve month high of $139.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.04 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a 50 day moving average of $114.39 and a 200-day moving average of $101.17.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 24th. The business services provider reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.01. Paychex had a net margin of 27.03% and a return on equity of 50.90%. The business had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.19 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.900-6.010 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 28th were given a dividend of $1.19 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 28th. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is 97.34%.

Paychex Profile

Paychex, Inc, founded in 1971 by B. Thomas “Tom” Golisano and headquartered in Rochester, New York, is a provider of payroll, human resources, and benefits outsourcing solutions for small- and medium-sized businesses. The company’s core services include payroll processing and tax filing, employee benefits administration, retirement services, and workers’ compensation administration, designed to simplify back-office operations and help clients comply with regulatory and tax requirements.

Paychex offers an integrated technology platform, marketed under the Paychex Flex brand, which delivers cloud-based payroll, HR, time and attendance, and reporting tools.