SCS Capital Management LLC Buys Shares of 3,121 Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Key Points

• SCS Capital Management LLC purchased 3,121 shares of Paychex, Inc. valued at approximately $481,000 during the first quarter.
• Analysts recently adjusted price targets for Paychex; UBS Group lowered theirs from $155.00 to $145.00, while Royal Bank of Canada set a target at $165.00.
• CEO John B. Gibson and Chairman Martin Mucci both sold significant shares earlier this month, decreasing their positions by 13.14% and 17.91% respectively.

SCS Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 3,121 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $481,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Paychex during the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Paychex during the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Tsfg LLC lifted its holdings in Paychex by 122.3% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, HWG Holdings LP bought a new stake in Paychex during the 1st quarter valued at about $46,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of the company'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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 81,755 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,602,669.60. This represents a 13.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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 dated 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 transaction, the chairman directly owned 446,917 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,878,940.89. The trade was a 17.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Paychex Stock Performance

NASDAQ PAYX traded down $3.14 on Monday, hitting $131.97. 2,194,963 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,131,776. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $131.77 and a 1-year high of $161.24. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $140.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $146.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.46 billion, a PE ratio of 28.88, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 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 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.19. Paychex had a net margin of 29.75% and a return on equity of 45.01%. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.38 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.12 EPS. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st were issued a dividend of $1.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 21st. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Paychex's dividend payout ratio is presently 94.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on PAYX. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $150.00 to $148.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 27th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Paychex from $156.00 to $152.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Barclays set a $155.00 target price on shares of Paychex and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Paychex in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $160.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $140.00 target price on shares of Paychex and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $149.70.

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.