Eventide Asset Management LLC Invests $535,000 in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Key Points

• Eventide Asset Management LLC has acquired a new stake worth approximately $535,000 in Paychex, Inc., buying 3,540 shares during the first quarter.
• Paychex recently announced a $1.08 quarterly dividend, translating to an annualized dividend of $4.32 and a yield of 3.1%.
• Despite insider sales, Paychex has a market cap of $49.38 billion, and analysts predict an EPS of 4.99 for FY 2026.

Eventide Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 3,540 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $535,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Paychex during the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the first quarter valued at about $34,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the first quarter valued at about $34,000. Tsfg LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 122.3% in the first quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 229 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HWG Holdings LP bought a new position in shares of Paychex in the first quarter valued at approximately $46,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PAYX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group set a $140.00 target price on shares of Paychex and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Paychex from $150.00 to $148.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 27th. Barclays set a $155.00 price objective on Paychex and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Paychex from $148.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Paychex from $156.00 to $152.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Paychex presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $149.70.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In other Paychex news, 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 transaction of $1,755,550.40. Following the completion of the sale, 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 filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of Paychex 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 transaction, the chairman owned 446,917 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,878,940.89. This represents a 17.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.

Paychex Price Performance

PAYX traded down $1.02 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $134.41. The stock had a trading volume of 1,379,252 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,140,307. The business has a 50-day moving average of $141.42 and a 200-day moving average of $146.94. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $129.20 and a one 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. The stock has a market cap of $48.34 billion, a PE ratio of 29.41, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.91.

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

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 21st were given a dividend of $1.08 per share. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 21st. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 94.53%.

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.