Paychex, Inc. $PAYX Shares Sold by Comerica Bank

Key Points

• Comerica Bank reduced its holdings in Paychex, Inc. by 7.8% during the first quarter, now owning 115,349 shares valued at approximately $17.8 million.
• Paychex recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.08 per share, which represents a 3.1% annualized yield and a payout ratio of 94.53%.
• Paychex's latest quarterly earnings were in line with analysts' expectations, reporting $1.19 earnings per share and $1.43 billion in revenue.

Comerica Bank trimmed its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 7.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 115,349 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 9,744 shares during the period. Comerica Bank's holdings in Paychex were worth $17,796,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Synovus Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 1.4% during the first quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 16,481 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,543,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the period. ICONIQ Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 10.9% during the first quarter. ICONIQ Capital LLC now owns 1,743 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $269,000 after buying an additional 171 shares during the period. Southeast Asset Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 13.8% during the first quarter. Southeast Asset Advisors LLC now owns 22,876 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,529,000 after buying an additional 2,776 shares during the period. Napa Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex during the first quarter worth approximately $546,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 2,823.8% during the first quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 164,055 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $25,310,000 after buying an additional 158,444 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In related news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 446,917 shares of the company's stock, valued at $64,878,940.89. This trade represents a 17.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 81,755 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,602,669.60. This trade represents a 13.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 11.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX traded up $0.07 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $138.72. 1,681,427 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,276,607. 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 capitalization of $49.97 billion, a PE ratio of 30.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.91. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $142.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $147.50. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $128.92 and a 52-week high of $161.24.

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

Paychex Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on PAYX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Paychex from $148.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Barclays set a $155.00 target price on shares of Paychex and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $165.00 price target on shares of Paychex and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $140.00 price target on shares of Paychex and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Paychex from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $149.70.

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.