Paychex, Inc. $PAYX Shares Acquired by Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc.

Key Points

• Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its stake in Paychex, Inc. by 16.0% in Q2, holding 37,584 shares valued at approximately $5.47 million.
• CEO John B. Gibson and Chairman Martin Mucci made significant stock sales, decreasing their ownership by 13.14% and 17.91% respectively, signaling insider activity in the company.
• The latest earnings report showed Paychex meeting EPS estimates at $1.19 and exceeding revenue expectations with $1.43 billion, indicating strong financial performance amidst varied analyst ratings.

Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 16.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 37,584 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,183 shares during the period. Paychex accounts for about 0.7% of Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc.'s holdings in Paychex were worth $5,467,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PAYX. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new position in Paychex in the first quarter worth about $34,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Paychex in the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Paychex in the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Tsfg LLC boosted its stake in Paychex by 122.3% in the first quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 229 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the period. Finally, Nova Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Paychex in the first quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In related news, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of the business'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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 81,755 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,602,669.60. The trade was a 13.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of the business's 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 sale, the chairman directly owned 446,917 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,878,940.89. The trade was a 17.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group decreased their target price on Paychex from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Paychex in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $160.00 target price for the company. Citigroup decreased their target price on Paychex from $158.00 to $148.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Paychex from $148.00 to $153.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $140.00 price target 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 assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Paychex has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $149.70.

Paychex Stock Performance

PAYX opened at $135.11 on Friday. The business's 50 day moving average is $140.44 and its 200-day moving average is $146.53. The stock has a market cap of $48.59 billion, a PE ratio of 29.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.91. 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 twelve month low of $131.83 and a twelve month high of $161.24.

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

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st were issued 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 3.2%. Paychex's payout ratio is presently 94.53%.

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.

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