SouthState Corp Has $1.18 Million Stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

SouthState Corp increased its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 8,787 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 518 shares during the quarter. SouthState Corp’s holdings in Paychex were worth $1,179,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 286.0% during the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 220 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC raised its position in Paychex by 227.6% during the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 249 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. American National Bank grew its position in Paychex by 166.7% in the second quarter. American National Bank now owns 288 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 42.0% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Paychex Stock Down 0.8 %

NASDAQ PAYX opened at $140.66 on Wednesday. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $114.72 and a twelve month high of $150.71. The stock has a market cap of $50.62 billion, a PE ratio of 29.99, a PEG ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.99. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $139.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $129.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.38.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.97% and a net margin of 31.98%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.14 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on PAYX shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. UBS Group raised their price objective on Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. TD Cowen upped their target price on Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $131.62.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.03, for a total value of $3,674,284.84. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 14,515 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,018,020.45. The trade was a 64.55 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.35, for a total transaction of $1,852,685.25. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 17,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,471,480.70. This trade represents a 42.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 54,174 shares of company stock worth $7,577,231. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.