Paychex, Inc. $PAYX Shares Purchased by Ameriprise Financial Inc.

Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 5.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,262,846 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 118,922 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.63% of Paychex worth $349,941,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Paychex during the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. Tsfg LLC lifted its position in Paychex by 122.3% during the 1st quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 229 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the period. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in Paychex during the 1st quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, Olde Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex during the 1st quarter worth approximately $59,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on PAYX shares. Barclays set a $155.00 price objective on Paychex and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Paychex from $148.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock 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 stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Paychex in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $160.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on Paychex from $158.00 to $148.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. 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.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $149.70.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $140.81 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $50.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.91. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $143.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $147.78. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $127.76 and a 12-month high of $161.24. 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 (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The business services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) 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 return on equity of 45.01% and a net margin of 29.75%.During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.12 EPS. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

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

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.