Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Key Points

• Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Paychex, Inc. by 17.6%, acquiring an additional 2,026 shares, bringing their total holdings to 13,542 shares valued at approximately $2.09 million.
• Institutional investors control 83.47% of Paychex's stock, indicating strong institutional backing for the company.
• Paychex recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.08 per share with a dividend yield of 3.1%, reinforcing its commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 17.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,542 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 2,026 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Paychex were worth $2,089,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Paychex by 0.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,807,843 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,907,314,000 after buying an additional 286,818 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Paychex by 7.3% during the first 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 purchasing an additional 737,542 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Paychex by 3.8% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,989,182 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $769,731,000 after purchasing an additional 181,628 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Paychex by 0.7% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,135,296 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $637,993,000 after purchasing an additional 30,670 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in Paychex by 14.7% during the fourth 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 valued at $438,998,000 after purchasing an additional 401,552 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Paychex Trading Up 1.7%

PAYX traded up $2.40 during trading on Friday, hitting $140.81. 2,066,281 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,159,591. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $143.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $147.76. The firm has a market cap of $50.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.81, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.91. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $127.76 and a 1 year high of $161.24. 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 (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 25th. The business services provider reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.19. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.38 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.01% and a net margin of 29.75%.During the same period last year, the business posted $1.12 EPS. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.08 per share. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 94.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PAYX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Paychex from $150.00 to $148.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Barclays set a $155.00 price objective on Paychex and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Paychex from $148.00 to $153.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $165.00 price objective on Paychex and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Paychex from $156.00 to $152.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $149.70.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In other Paychex 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 transaction of $1,755,550.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 81,755 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,602,669.60. This trade represents a 13.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 sale, the chairman directly owned 446,917 shares in the company, valued at $64,878,940.89. This trade represents a 17.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.