Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Raises Stock Position in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 17.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,542 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,026 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $2,089,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in PAYX. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Paychex by 26.3% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,710 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $801,000 after purchasing an additional 1,190 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at $227,000. Natixis bought a new position in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter valued at $538,000. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in Paychex in the 4th quarter worth $44,000. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lifted its stake in Paychex by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 4,856 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $681,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In related news, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 81,755 shares in the company, valued at $11,602,669.60. This represents a 13.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction on 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 owned 446,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $64,878,940.89. The trade was a 17.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX opened at $138.88 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $144.28 and its 200 day moving average is $147.91. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $50.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.91. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $125.45 and a 1 year high of $161.24.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The business services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.19. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 company posted $1.12 earnings per share. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st will be paid 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 presently 94.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on PAYX. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Paychex from $150.00 to $148.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 27th. Citigroup set a $158.00 price target on Paychex and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Paychex from $148.00 to $153.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $140.00 price objective on Paychex and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Paychex from $156.00 to $152.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $150.70.

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.