Redwood Investment Management LLC Lowers Holdings in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Key Points

• Redwood Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in Paychex, Inc. by 18.6%, owning 11,315 shares after selling 2,583 shares in the first quarter.
• Paychex recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.08 per share, representing a yield of 3.1% and a payout ratio of 94.53%.
• The company's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $1.19, meeting analyst estimates, with revenue of $1.43 billion, exceeding expectations.

Redwood Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 18.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,315 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 2,583 shares during the period. Redwood Investment Management LLC's holdings in Paychex were worth $1,746,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Paychex by 0.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,807,843 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,907,314,000 after buying an additional 286,818 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in 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 worth $1,663,474,000 after buying an additional 737,542 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Paychex by 3.8% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,989,182 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $769,731,000 after buying an additional 181,628 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Paychex by 0.7% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,135,296 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $637,993,000 after buying an additional 30,670 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Paychex by 14.7% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,130,781 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $438,998,000 after buying an additional 401,552 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.92, for a total transaction of $1,755,550.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 81,755 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,602,669.60. The trade was a 13.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 sale, the chairman directly 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 owned by insiders.

Paychex Stock Up 0.1%

NASDAQ PAYX traded up $0.07 on Thursday, hitting $138.72. The stock had a trading volume of 1,681,427 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,276,607. The business's fifty day moving average price is $142.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $147.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.28. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $128.92 and a 52-week high of $161.24. The stock has a market cap of $49.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.91.

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

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Paychex's payout ratio is 94.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on PAYX shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Paychex from $150.00 to $148.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $140.00 price objective on shares of Paychex and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Paychex from $156.00 to $152.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Paychex from $158.00 to $148.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company 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 issued a "market perform" rating and a $160.00 price target on the stock. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $149.70.

About Paychex

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.