Paychex, Inc. $PAYX Shares Sold by Advisors Asset Management Inc.

Key Points

• Advisors Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in Paychex, Inc. by 5.8%, selling 6,033 shares, leaving them with a total of 98,499 shares valued at approximately $15.2 million.
• Paychex declared a quarterly dividend of $1.08 per share, which represents a 3.2% yield and is part of a $4.32 annualized dividend.
• Shares of Paychex recently traded at $135.96, reflecting a 2.5% decrease and a market cap of $48.98 billion.

Advisors Asset Management Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 5.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 98,499 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 6,033 shares during the quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Paychex were worth $15,196,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PAYX. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 26.3% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,710 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $801,000 after purchasing an additional 1,190 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter worth $227,000. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter worth $971,000. Bison Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 4,035 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $566,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 54.8% in the 4th quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 11,516 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,615,000 after acquiring an additional 4,076 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Paychex Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of PAYX opened at $135.96 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $141.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $147.32. 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 stock has a market cap of $48.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.91. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $128.92 and a 1-year high of $161.24.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 25th. The business services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.19. Paychex had a net margin of 29.75% and a return on equity of 45.01%. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.12 earnings per share. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st were issued a $1.08 dividend. 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 94.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PAYX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Paychex from $148.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Paychex from $156.00 to $152.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $165.00 target price on Paychex and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Paychex from $158.00 to $148.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Paychex in a report on Thursday, July 10th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $160.00 price target for the company. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $149.70.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In other news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of the business's 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 completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 446,917 shares of the company's stock, 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 legal 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 dated Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.92, for a total value 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding PAYX? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.