Paychex, Inc. $PAYX Shares Sold by Comerica Bank

Comerica Bank lessened its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 7.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 115,349 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 9,744 shares during the quarter. Comerica Bank’s holdings in Paychex were worth $17,796,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Paychex by 20,236.7% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,153,089 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $177,899,000 after buying an additional 1,147,419 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex in the 1st quarter valued at $134,192,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 7.3% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,782,173 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,663,474,000 after acquiring an additional 737,542 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 16.9% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,807,554 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $674,115,000 after acquiring an additional 694,651 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Neuberger Berman Group LLC boosted its position in Paychex by 117.6% during the 1st quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 1,217,092 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $187,512,000 after purchasing an additional 657,871 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.17, for a total value of $14,157,849.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 446,917 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,878,940.89. This trade represents a 17.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,602,669.60. This represents a 13.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Paychex Price Performance

PAYX stock opened at $138.50 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $143.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $147.69. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $128.92 and a 52-week high of $161.24. The company has a market capitalization of $49.89 billion, a PE ratio of 30.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10.

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, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.38 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 29.75% and a return on equity of 45.01%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.12 earnings per share. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at EPS. Analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be given a $1.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Paychex’s payout ratio is presently 94.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on PAYX. UBS Group cut their price objective on Paychex from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Paychex from $148.00 to $153.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Paychex in a report on Thursday, July 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $160.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group set a $140.00 target price on Paychex and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Barclays set a $155.00 price target on Paychex and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Paychex has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $149.70.

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.