Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC Sells 1,895 Shares of Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Key Points

• Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC reduced its stake in Paychex, Inc. by 44% during Q1, owning 2,408 shares valued at $372,000.
• Paychex announced a quarterly dividend of $1.08, representing an annualized yield of 3.2%, with a payout ratio of 94.53%.
• Analysts have issued a consensus price target of $149.70 for Paychex, with the stock currently rated as "Reduce" by several firms.

Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC trimmed its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 44.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,408 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 1,895 shares during the period. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC's holdings in Paychex were worth $372,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in PAYX. Summit Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Paychex by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Summit Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,027 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $467,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. LGT Group Foundation grew its position in Paychex by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. LGT Group Foundation now owns 2,528 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $390,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Equity Partners grew its position in Paychex by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 7,623 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,176,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Paychex by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,192 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $492,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Finally, King Wealth Management Group grew its position in Paychex by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. King Wealth Management Group now owns 1,669 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $257,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paychex Stock Up 1.8%

PAYX stock traded up $2.39 during trading on Thursday, reaching $135.46. 1,698,523 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,862,743. The firm's 50 day moving average is $140.67 and its 200 day moving average is $146.66. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $131.83 and a twelve month high of $161.24. 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 firm has a market cap of $48.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.91.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The business services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.01% and a net margin of 29.75%.The business 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 business earned $1.12 EPS. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st were paid 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 of this dividend was Monday, July 21st. Paychex's dividend payout ratio is 94.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group set a $140.00 price objective on Paychex and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Citigroup cut their target price on Paychex from $158.00 to $148.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Paychex from $148.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Paychex from $150.00 to $148.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $165.00 target price on Paychex and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $149.70.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Paychex news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of the business's 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 completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 446,917 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $64,878,940.89. The trade was a 17.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.92, for a total value of $1,755,550.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 81,755 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 corporate insiders.

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.