Paychex, Inc. $PAYX Stock Holdings Lifted by Northern Trust Corp

Key Points

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Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 3.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,989,182 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 181,628 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned 1.39% of Paychex worth $769,731,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its position in shares of Paychex by 118.5% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Paychex by 32.6% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. MWA Asset Management grew its position in shares of Paychex by 6.5% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Paychex by 15.1% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,419 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $990,000 after acquiring an additional 843 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Paychex by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,607 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,174,000 after acquiring an additional 502 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of PAYX traded up $2.40 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $140.81. The stock had a trading volume of 2,066,281 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,159,591. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $127.76 and a 52 week high of $161.24. 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's 50 day moving average price is $143.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $147.76. The company has a market capitalization of $50.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.81, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19. The business 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 period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.12 EPS. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at EPS. On average, analysts forecast 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 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 payout ratio is presently 94.53%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chairman owned 446,917 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,878,940.89. The trade was a 17.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $11,602,669.60. This represents a 13.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on PAYX. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $165.00 price objective on Paychex and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Morgan Stanley reduced 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Paychex from $148.00 to $153.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Paychex in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $160.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays set a $155.00 target price on Paychex and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. 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.com, Paychex currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target 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.