Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC Decreases Position in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Key Points

• Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC reduced its position in Paychex by 4.6%, holding 73,363 shares valued at approximately $11.32 million as of their latest SEC filing.
• Insider trading activity showed significant sales, with CEO John B. Gibson selling 12,370 shares and Chairman Martin Mucci selling 97,526 shares, representing a decrease in their respective positions.
• Paychex announced a quarterly dividend of $1.08 per share, which will be paid on August 29, reflecting a 3.1% dividend yield with a payout ratio of 94.53%.

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lessened its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 4.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 73,363 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 3,513 shares during the quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC's holdings in Paychex were worth $11,318,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

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

Paychex Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PAYX traded up $0.07 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $138.72. 1,681,427 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,276,607. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $142.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $147.50. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $128.92 and a one year high of $161.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. The firm has a market cap of $49.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.91.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.19. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 previous year, the business earned $1.12 earnings per share. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.08 per share. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. Paychex's payout ratio is presently 94.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group set a $140.00 price objective on Paychex and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Barclays set a $155.00 price objective on Paychex and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Paychex from $158.00 to $148.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. 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. Finally, 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. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $149.70.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In other news, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of the company'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 transaction of $1,755,550.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 81,755 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of the 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 directly owned 446,917 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,878,940.89. This trade represents a 17.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.

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.