Paychex, Inc. $PAYX Shares Acquired by Gotham Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Gotham Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Paychex, Inc. by 19.8% in the first quarter, owning 81,183 shares valued at approximately $12.5 million.
• CEO John B. Gibson and Chairman Martin Mucci made significant stock sales, with Gibson selling 12,370 shares and Mucci selling 97,526 shares, respectively, reflecting a decrease in their ownership positions.
• Paychex reported earnings of $1.19 per share for the latest quarter, meeting analysts' expectations and showing strong revenue of $1.43 billion, exceeding predicted figures.

Gotham Asset Management LLC raised its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 19.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 81,183 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 13,405 shares during the quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC's holdings in Paychex were worth $12,525,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Insider Activity at Paychex

In other news, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of Paychex 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 81,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,602,669.60. This trade represents a 13.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $14,157,849.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on PAYX. Morgan Stanley dropped 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. Citigroup dropped 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. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Paychex from $156.00 to $152.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Paychex from $148.00 to $153.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $140.00 price objective on Paychex and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $149.70.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX traded down $0.17 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $135.29. The stock had a trading volume of 340,559 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,125,503. The company has a market cap of $48.65 billion, a PE ratio of 29.60, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.91. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $140.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $146.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $131.83 and a fifty-two week high of $161.24.

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

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 94.53%.

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.