APG Asset Management N.V. Decreases Holdings in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Key Points

• APG Asset Management N.V. has reduced its stake in Paychex, Inc. by 8.3% during the 1st quarter, resulting in ownership of 312,760 shares valued at approximately $44.67 million.
• Insider transactions include Chairman Martin Mucci selling 97,526 shares for over $14 million, reducing his ownership by 17.91%.
• Analysts have given mixed ratings on Paychex, with a consensus price target of $149.70 and about 83.47% of the stock currently owned by hedge funds and institutional investors.

APG Asset Management N.V. cut its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 8.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 312,760 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 28,393 shares during the period. APG Asset Management N.V. owned approximately 0.09% of Paychex worth $44,670,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,807,843 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,907,314,000 after acquiring an additional 286,818 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 7.3% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,782,173 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,663,474,000 after buying an additional 737,542 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,989,182 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $769,731,000 after buying an additional 181,628 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Paychex by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,135,296 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $637,993,000 after purchasing an additional 30,670 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in Paychex by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,130,781 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $438,998,000 after purchasing an additional 401,552 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on PAYX. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $165.00 target price on shares of Paychex and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Paychex from $148.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Barclays set a $155.00 price target on shares of Paychex and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Paychex from $150.00 to $148.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Paychex from $156.00 to $152.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $149.70.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX traded up $0.04 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $138.69. The company had a trading volume of 1,675,817 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,150,129. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $142.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $147.56. The stock has a market cap of $49.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.35, a P/E/G ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.91. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $128.92 and a 1 year high of $161.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10.

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

Paychex Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.17, for a total transaction of $14,157,849.42. Following the sale, the chairman owned 446,917 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,878,940.89. This trade represents a 17.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.92, for a total transaction of $1,755,550.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 81,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,602,669.60. This represents a 13.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 11.40% of the stock is 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.