Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. Acquires New Stake in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Key Points

• Landscape Capital Management has acquired a new stake in Paychex, Inc., purchasing 10,472 shares valued at approximately $1.6 million.
• Paychex recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.08 per share, resulting in a 3.1% dividend yield for shareholders.
• Shareholder activity includes significant insider selling, with Chairman Martin Mucci selling over 97,000 shares, decreasing his ownership by 17.91%.

Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 10,472 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,616,000.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PAYX has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $165.00 target price on Paychex and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Paychex from $150.00 to $148.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Barclays set a $155.00 price target on Paychex and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Paychex from $156.00 to $152.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on Paychex from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $149.70.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 81,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,602,669.60. This represents a 13.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 10th. The shares were 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 $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. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Paychex Price Performance

NASDAQ PAYX traded up $0.74 on Monday, hitting $139.46. 1,715,827 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,113,667. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $142.24 and a 200-day moving average of $147.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $128.92 and a 52 week high of $161.24. The stock has a market cap of $50.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.52, a P/E/G ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.91.

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

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st were paid a $1.08 dividend. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 21st. Paychex's dividend payout ratio is presently 94.53%.

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.