Hilltop National Bank Makes New $1.21 Million Investment in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Key Points

• Hilltop National Bank made a new investment of approximately $1.21 million in Paychex, acquiring 8,323 shares during the second quarter.
• Insider transactions included CEO John B. Gibson selling 12,370 shares and Chairman Martin Mucci selling 97,526 shares, indicating a decrease in their ownership of the stock.
• Paychex reported quarterly earnings of $1.22 EPS, beating analysts' expectations, with revenue reaching $1.54 billion, a 16.8% increase from the previous year.

Hilltop National Bank acquired a new position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 8,323 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,211,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Paychex by 0.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,807,843 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,907,314,000 after purchasing an additional 286,818 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Paychex by 7.3% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,782,173 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,663,474,000 after purchasing an additional 737,542 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Paychex by 3.8% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,989,182 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $769,731,000 after purchasing an additional 181,628 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Paychex by 0.7% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,135,296 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $637,993,000 after purchasing an additional 30,670 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Select Equity Group L.P. boosted its position in Paychex by 99.0% in the first quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 3,494,312 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $539,102,000 after purchasing an additional 1,738,372 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.92, for a total transaction of $1,755,550.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 81,755 shares in the company, valued at $11,602,669.60. The trade was a 13.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of the business'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 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Paychex Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $123.42 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.27. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $119.02 and a 52-week high of $161.24. The firm has a market cap of $44.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.73, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.92. The business's fifty day moving average is $136.13 and its 200 day moving average is $144.55.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 30th. The business services provider reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.02. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.17% and a net margin of 27.85%.The company had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.16 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.428-5.528 EPS. Research analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 21st. Paychex's payout ratio is presently 97.08%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on PAYX shares. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $165.00 target price on Paychex and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Wolfe Research lowered their target price on Paychex from $145.00 to $140.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Paychex from $153.00 to $148.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Paychex from $148.00 to $132.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Paychex from $148.00 to $153.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Paychex currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $142.83.

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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