Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Grows Position in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Key Points

• Price T Rowe Associates Inc. increased its stake in Paychex, Inc. by 2.4% during the first quarter, owning 753,450 shares valued at approximately $116.2 million.
• Several hedge funds have recently adjusted their positions in Paychex, with institutional investors now holding 83.47% of the company's stock.
• Paychex announced a quarterly dividend of $1.08 per share, reflecting a 3.1% yield, and reported earnings matching estimates with $1.19 per share.

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 2.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 753,450 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 17,522 shares during the quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned about 0.21% of Paychex worth $116,243,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Paychex during the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex during the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. Tsfg LLC lifted its position in Paychex by 122.3% during the 1st quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 229 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the period. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in Paychex during the 1st quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. lifted its position in Paychex by 381.2% during the 4th quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 409 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 324 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $165.00 price objective on Paychex and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Paychex from $148.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Paychex from $150.00 to $148.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 27th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Paychex in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $160.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Paychex from $156.00 to $152.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Paychex currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $149.70.

Paychex Stock Down 1.6%

PAYX opened at $138.50 on Tuesday. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $143.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $147.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.91. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $128.92 and a 12 month high of $161.24.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last issued 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. The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.38 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.01% and a net margin of 29.75%.During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.12 earnings per share. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 yield of 3.1%. Paychex's payout ratio is currently 94.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In related news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of Paychex 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 transaction, the chairman directly 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed 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 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 of the company's stock, valued at $11,602,669.60. The trade was a 13.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.

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.

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