Apollon Financial LLC Takes $410,000 Position in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Key Points

• Apollon Financial LLC has taken a new position in Paychex, Inc., acquiring 2,816 shares valued at approximately $410,000 in the 2nd quarter.
• CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares for around $1.76 million, resulting in a 13.14% decrease in his ownership of the stock.
• Recent analyst reports have seen several firms lowering their price targets for Paychex, with estimates ranging from $130 to $150, indicating a cautious outlook.

Apollon Financial LLC bought a new stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,816 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $410,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. Tsfg LLC increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 122.3% in the 1st quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 229 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the period. Finally, Nova Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 1st quarter valued at $38,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Paychex news, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.92, for a total transaction of $1,755,550.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 81,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,602,669.60. The trade was a 13.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group set a $130.00 price target on Paychex in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Paychex from $153.00 to $148.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Argus reduced their price target on Paychex from $170.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Paychex from $153.00 to $140.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Paychex from $148.00 to $132.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $141.29.

Paychex Stock Performance

PAYX stock opened at $125.55 on Friday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $133.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $143.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The firm has a market cap of $45.18 billion, a PE ratio of 28.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.92. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $119.02 and a 1-year high of $161.24.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, September 30th. The business services provider reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.54 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.17% and a net margin of 27.85%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.16 earnings per share. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.428-5.528 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 7th. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. Paychex's payout ratio is currently 97.08%.

Paychex 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.

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