Nomura Holdings Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Key Points

• Nomura Holdings Inc. cut its stake in Paychex, Inc. by 75.1%, reducing its holdings to 10,909 shares valued at $1,683,000 after selling 32,917 shares in Q1.
• Insider transactions showed significant sales, with Chairman Martin Mucci selling 97,526 shares for approximately $14.16 million and CEO John B. Gibson selling 12,370 shares worth about $1.76 million.
• Paychex has set a quarterly dividend of $1.08 per share, equating to an annualized dividend of $4.32 and a yield of 3.2%.

Nomura Holdings Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 75.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,909 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 32,917 shares during the quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc.'s holdings in Paychex were worth $1,683,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of PAYX. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Paychex by 26.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,710 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $801,000 after acquiring an additional 1,190 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at $227,000. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC bought a new position in Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at $971,000. Bison Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Paychex by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 4,035 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $566,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. Finally, Aptus Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Paychex by 54.8% during the fourth quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 11,516 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,615,000 after purchasing an additional 4,076 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 transaction of $14,157,849.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 446,917 shares in the company, valued at $64,878,940.89. The trade was a 17.91% 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, 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 value 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. The trade was a 13.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 11.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Paychex Price Performance

Paychex stock opened at $135.96 on Wednesday. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $128.92 and a one year high of $161.24. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $141.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $147.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.75, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.91.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The business services provider reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $1.38 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.12 earnings per share. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st were given a dividend of $1.08 per share. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 21st. Paychex's payout ratio is presently 94.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on PAYX. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Paychex from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Paychex from $158.00 to $148.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Paychex from $148.00 to $153.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Paychex from $156.00 to $152.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $140.00 price objective on Paychex and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $149.70.

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.

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