Ameriprise Financial Inc. Purchases 118,922 Shares of Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Key Points

• Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in Paychex, Inc. by 5.5%, owning 2,262,846 shares valued at approximately $349.9 million as of the first quarter.
• Paychex's Board Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares recently, reducing his ownership by 17.91%, while CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares, decreasing his stake by 13.14%.
• Analysts have set varying price targets for Paychex, with a consensus average target of $149.70 and most analysts rating it with a "Hold" or "Reduce" recommendation.

Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 5.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,262,846 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 118,922 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned about 0.63% of Paychex worth $349,941,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in PAYX. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 20,236.7% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,153,089 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $177,899,000 after buying an additional 1,147,419 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex in the first quarter valued at $134,192,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 7.3% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,782,173 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,663,474,000 after buying an additional 737,542 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 16.9% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,807,554 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $674,115,000 after buying an additional 694,651 shares during the period. Finally, Neuberger Berman Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 117.6% in the first quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 1,217,092 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $187,512,000 after buying an additional 657,871 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Paychex Stock Up 0.2%

PAYX traded up $0.34 during trading on Thursday, hitting $138.99. 482,457 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,146,576. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $142.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $147.56. 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 12-month low of $128.92 and a 12-month high of $161.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.39, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.91.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19. The firm 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. Analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st will be given a dividend of $1.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. Paychex's payout ratio is 94.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In related news, 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 81,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,602,669.60. The trade was a 13.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $14,157,849.42. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 446,917 shares in the company, valued at $64,878,940.89. This trade represents 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 insiders.

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.