Vontobel Holding Ltd. Cuts Stock Holdings in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Key Points

• Vontobel Holding Ltd. reduced its stake in Paychex, Inc. by 40.7%, holding 6,774 shares valued at approximately $985,000 after selling 4,645 shares in Q2.
• Paychex reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.22, surpassing analysts' estimates, and recorded a 16.8% increase in revenue compared to the previous year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.08 per share, representing a 3.4% yield, with the ex-dividend date set for November 7th.

Vontobel Holding Ltd. decreased its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 40.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,774 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 4,645 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd.'s holdings in Paychex were worth $985,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PAYX. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its position in Paychex by 118.5% during the first quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 136,876 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $21,117,000 after acquiring an additional 74,245 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Paychex by 32.6% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 119,291 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $18,404,000 after acquiring an additional 29,320 shares during the last quarter. Martin Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Paychex by 166.9% during the second quarter. Martin Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,340 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $922,000 after acquiring an additional 3,965 shares during the last quarter. MWA Asset Management lifted its position in Paychex by 6.5% during the first quarter. MWA Asset Management now owns 4,269 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $659,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in Paychex during the first quarter valued at approximately $832,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Paychex Stock Up 0.3%

PAYX stock opened at $125.55 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $119.02 and a 52 week high of $161.24. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $133.78 and a 200 day moving average of $143.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.18 billion, a PE ratio of 28.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.92.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 30th. The business services provider reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.02. Paychex had a net margin of 27.85% and a return on equity of 45.17%. The business had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.16 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.428-5.528 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.08 per share. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 7th. Paychex's payout ratio is presently 97.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Paychex news, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owned 81,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,602,669.60. The trade was a 13.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Paychex from $153.00 to $140.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Paychex from $148.00 to $132.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. 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 target price on shares of Paychex and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Argus lowered their target price on shares of Paychex from $170.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $141.29.

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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