Paychex, Inc. $PAYX Shares Sold by Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. lessened its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 1.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 19,223 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 228 shares during the period. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $2,796,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Summit Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Summit Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,027 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $467,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. LGT Group Foundation raised its stake in Paychex by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. LGT Group Foundation now owns 2,528 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $390,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Golden State Equity Partners raised its stake in Paychex by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 7,623 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,176,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Paychex by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,192 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $492,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Finally, King Wealth Management Group raised its stake in Paychex by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. King Wealth Management Group now owns 1,669 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $257,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Trading Up 1.0%

NASDAQ PAYX opened at $124.61 on Friday. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $119.02 and a 1-year high of $161.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The company has a market capitalization of $44.85 billion, a PE ratio of 28.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.92. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $135.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $144.39.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 30th. The business services provider reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.54 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 27.85% and a return on equity of 45.17%. Paychex’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.16 earnings per share. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.428-5.528 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st were issued a $1.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 21st. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 97.08%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 value 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. This represents a 13.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the chairman owned 446,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $64,878,940.89. This represents a 17.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on PAYX shares. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Paychex from $158.00 to $148.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $148.00 to $153.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Paychex from $148.00 to $132.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $132.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $165.00 price target on shares of Paychex and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $142.77.

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.