First Bank & Trust Has $603,000 Holdings in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Key Points

• First Bank & Trust reduced its holdings in Paychex, Inc. by 39.7% during the 2nd quarter, owning 4,148 shares valued at $603,000 after selling 2,730 shares.
• Paychex announced a quarterly dividend of $1.08, representing an annualized dividend yield of 3.3% and a dividend payout ratio of 94.53%.
• Analysts have mixed ratings for Paychex, with ten ratings classified as "Hold," and a consensus price target of $149.70, indicating a cautious outlook on the stock's performance.

First Bank & Trust lessened its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 39.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,148 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 2,730 shares during the quarter. First Bank & Trust's holdings in Paychex were worth $603,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its position in Paychex by 118.5% in the 1st quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 136,876 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $21,117,000 after buying an additional 74,245 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 32.6% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 119,291 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $18,404,000 after acquiring an additional 29,320 shares during the last quarter. MWA Asset Management raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 6.5% during the first quarter. MWA Asset Management now owns 4,269 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $659,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Paychex by 15.1% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,419 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $990,000 after purchasing an additional 843 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Paychex by 7.1% during the first quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,607 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,174,000 after purchasing an additional 502 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Paychex in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $160.00 price target for the company. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Paychex from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Paychex from $156.00 to $152.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Paychex from $158.00 to $148.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Paychex from $148.00 to $153.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $149.70.

Paychex Stock Performance

NASDAQ PAYX opened at $131.97 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.88, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.91. The company's fifty day moving average is $140.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $146.38. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $131.77 and a 52-week high of $161.24.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 25th. The business services provider reported $1.19 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 business had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.12 earnings per share. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 21st were given a $1.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 21st. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 94.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chairman 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of the business'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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 81,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,602,669.60. This represents a 13.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.80% 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.

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