Baird Financial Group Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Key Points

• Baird Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in Paychex, Inc. by 8.0% in the first quarter, now owning approximately 0.24% of the company worth $132.3 million.
• Several institutional investors increased their positions in Paychex, with GAMMA Investing LLC seeing a substantial lift of 20,236.7%, acquiring over 1.1 million shares.
• Paychex recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.08 per share, representing a 3.1% yield based on their current payout ratio of 94.53%.

Baird Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 8.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 857,665 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 74,093 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. owned 0.24% of Paychex worth $132,321,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex during the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Paychex in the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Tsfg LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 122.3% in the 1st quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 229 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the period. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in shares of Paychex in the 1st quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, Olde Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex in the 1st quarter valued at about $59,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Paychex in a report on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $160.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Paychex from $156.00 to $152.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 26th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Paychex from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Barclays set a $155.00 price objective on Paychex and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $140.00 price objective on Paychex and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $149.70.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In related news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.17, for a total value of $14,157,849.42. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 446,917 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $64,878,940.89. This trade represents a 17.91% decrease in their position. 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 the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 81,755 shares in the company, valued at $11,602,669.60. This represents a 13.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX traded up $0.74 during trading on Monday, reaching $139.46. 1,715,827 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,113,667. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $128.92 and a fifty-two week high of $161.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. The firm has a market cap of $50.24 billion, a PE ratio of 30.52, a P/E/G ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $142.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $147.40.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The business services provider reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.38 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.12 EPS. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at EPS. As a group, analysts predict 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 was paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st were paid a $1.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 21st. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 94.53%.

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.