Paychex, Inc. $PAYX Shares Bought by NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC

Key Points

• NorthCrest Asset Management LLC significantly increased its holdings in Paychex, Inc. by 84.2%, acquiring an additional 1,949 shares, bringing their total to 4,263 shares valued at approximately $627,000.
• Multiple large investors, including Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC and Swedbank AB, have also boosted their positions in Paychex, resulting in institutional ownership of 83.47% of the stock.
• Paychex reported strong earnings, matching analysts' expectations with $1.19 EPS and a revenue of $1.43 billion, surpassing forecasts of $1.38 billion.

NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC grew its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 84.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,263 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,949 shares during the quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC's holdings in Paychex were worth $627,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its position in Paychex by 118.5% during the first quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 136,876 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $21,117,000 after acquiring an additional 74,245 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Paychex by 32.6% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 119,291 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $18,404,000 after acquiring an additional 29,320 shares during the last quarter. Martin Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Paychex by 166.9% during the second quarter. Martin Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,340 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $922,000 after acquiring an additional 3,965 shares during the last quarter. MWA Asset Management boosted its position in Paychex by 6.5% during the first quarter. MWA Asset Management now owns 4,269 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $659,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Paychex by 15.1% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,419 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $990,000 after purchasing an additional 843 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on PAYX shares. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Paychex from $148.00 to $140.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $140.00 price target on shares of Paychex and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $165.00 price target on shares of Paychex and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Paychex from $148.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Paychex from $152.00 to $142.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $148.20.

Paychex Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of PAYX stock traded up $0.40 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $130.40. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,327,176 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,197,799. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $139.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $145.81. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $128.23 and a 12-month 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 capitalization of $46.89 billion, a PE ratio of 28.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.91.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The business services provider reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19. Paychex had a net margin of 29.75% and a return on equity of 45.01%. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.38 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.12 EPS. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 21st. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. Paychex's payout ratio is 94.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In related news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.17, for a total transaction of $14,157,849.42. Following the sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 81,755 shares in the company, valued at $11,602,669.60. This trade represents a 13.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.80% 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.