Paychex, Inc. $PAYX Shares Purchased by Shell Asset Management Co.

Key Points

• Shell Asset Management Co. increased its stake in Paychex by 70.9% during the 2nd quarter, acquiring an additional 5,144 shares, bringing its total holdings to 12,402 shares valued at $1.8 million.
• CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of Paychex at an average price of $141.92, decreasing his position by 13.14% while retaining approximately $11.6 million in shares.
• Analysts have lowered their price targets for Paychex, with Citigroup and Morgan Stanley setting new targets of $148.00 and $132.00 respectively, as the stock faces a consensus rating of "Reduce."

Shell Asset Management Co. increased its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 70.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,402 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 5,144 shares during the period. Shell Asset Management Co.'s holdings in Paychex were worth $1,804,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Godsey & Gibb Inc. lifted its position in Paychex by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 159,027 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $23,132,000 after acquiring an additional 3,509 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS increased its holdings in Paychex by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 147,679 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $21,481,000 after purchasing an additional 5,100 shares during the last quarter. Drake & Associates LLC increased its holdings in Paychex by 53.7% during the 2nd quarter. Drake & Associates LLC now owns 18,863 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,744,000 after purchasing an additional 6,587 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK increased its holdings in Paychex by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 277,864 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $40,418,000 after purchasing an additional 866 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PUREfi Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Paychex by 26.5% during the 2nd quarter. PUREfi Wealth LLC now owns 2,425 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $353,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In other Paychex news, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of the business's 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 81,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,602,669.60. The trade was a 13.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PAYX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Paychex from $158.00 to $148.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Paychex from $148.00 to $132.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Paychex from $153.00 to $140.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Barclays set a $155.00 price objective on Paychex and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $130.00 price objective on Paychex in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $141.29.

Paychex Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $126.59 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.27. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $119.02 and a 1 year high of $161.24. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $134.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $143.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.56 billion, a PE ratio of 28.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.92.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 30th. The business services provider reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.02. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.17% and a net margin of 27.85%.The company had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.16 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.428-5.528 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Company 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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