Napa Wealth Management Buys New Position in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Key Points

• Napa Wealth Management has acquired a stake in Paychex, Inc., purchasing 3,538 shares valued at approximately $546,000 during the first quarter.
• Chairman Martin Mucci and CEO John B. Gibson sold significant portions of their shares, indicating a combined reduction in ownership of 17.91% and 13.14%, respectively.
• Paychex has announced a quarterly dividend of $1.08 per share, suggesting a strong commitment to returning value to shareholders with a yield of 3.1%.

Napa Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 3,538 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $546,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Paychex by 26.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,710 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $801,000 after buying an additional 1,190 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in Paychex during the fourth quarter worth $227,000. Natixis purchased a new position in Paychex during the fourth quarter worth $538,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. increased its position in Paychex by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 4,856 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $681,000 after buying an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dark Forest Capital Management LP increased its position in Paychex by 22.2% during the fourth quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 5,000 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $701,000 after buying an additional 908 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group dropped their price target on Paychex from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Citigroup dropped their price target 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 price objective on Paychex and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Paychex from $150.00 to $148.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Paychex in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $160.00 target price on the stock. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $149.70.

Paychex Trading Up 0.4%

NASDAQ PAYX traded up $0.61 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $138.65. 1,852,718 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,157,155. The business's 50 day moving average is $143.13 and its 200-day moving average is $147.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.28. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $128.92 and a 12-month high of $161.24.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 25th. The business services provider reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19. The company 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 last year, the business posted $1.12 EPS. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be issued 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 is Monday, July 21st. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 94.53%.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In other news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of the firm'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 directly owned 446,917 shares in the company, valued at $64,878,940.89. This trade represents a 17.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.

Paychex 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.