Cresset Asset Management LLC Sells 2,069 Shares of Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Key Points

• Cresset Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in Paychex, Inc. by 16.5%, bringing its total shares owned to 10,474, valued at approximately $1.62 million.
• During the first quarter, several institutional investors significantly increased their stakes in Paychex, notably GAMMA Investing LLC, which raised its stake by 20,236.7%.
• Paychex reported quarterly earnings of $1.19 per share, meeting consensus estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend of $1.08 with a yield of 3.1%.

Cresset Asset Management LLC lessened its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 16.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,474 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 2,069 shares during the period. Cresset Asset Management LLC's holdings in Paychex were worth $1,616,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Paychex by 26.3% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,710 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $801,000 after buying an additional 1,190 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in Paychex during the 4th quarter worth about $227,000. Natixis acquired a new position in Paychex during the 4th quarter worth about $538,000. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new position in Paychex during the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lifted its position in Paychex by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 4,856 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $681,000 after buying an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Paychex Trading Down 0.3%

Paychex stock traded down $0.46 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $138.04. 3,317,548 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,211,215. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $128.92 and a fifty-two week high of $161.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.21, a PEG ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.91. The firm's 50 day moving average is $143.13 and its 200-day moving average is $147.62.

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

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 of this dividend 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 94.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on PAYX. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Paychex from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. 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. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Paychex from $158.00 to $148.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $165.00 price target on shares of Paychex and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Paychex from $150.00 to $148.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $149.70.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In other news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.17, for a total value 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 $64,878,940.89. This represents a 17.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.

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.