AQR Capital Management LLC Sells 38,660 Shares of Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

AQR Capital Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 15.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 204,914 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 38,660 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Paychex worth $31,202,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. Summit Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Paychex by 2.4% in the first quarter. Summit Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,027 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $467,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. LGT Group Foundation raised its stake in Paychex by 2.8% during the first quarter. LGT Group Foundation now owns 2,528 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $390,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Equity Partners raised its stake in Paychex by 0.9% during the first quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 7,623 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,176,000 after buying an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Paychex by 2.4% during the first quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,192 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $492,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Finally, King Wealth Management Group raised its position in shares of Paychex by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. King Wealth Management Group now owns 1,669 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $257,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Paychex Stock Performance

NASDAQ PAYX traded down $0.42 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $135.04. 392,560 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,125,921. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $131.83 and a 52 week high of $161.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.54, a P/E/G ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. The business's fifty day moving average price is $140.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $146.66.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The business services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.19. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.38 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 29.75% and a return on equity of 45.01%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.12 EPS. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st were paid a $1.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 21st. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 94.53%.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In other Paychex news, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.92, for a total value of $1,755,550.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 81,755 shares in the company, valued at $11,602,669.60. This represents a 13.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.17, for a total transaction of $14,157,849.42. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 446,917 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $64,878,940.89. This trade represents a 17.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on PAYX. Barclays set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Paychex and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Paychex from $148.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $140.00 target price on Paychex and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on Paychex from $158.00 to $148.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Paychex has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $149.70.

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.