Zevenbergen Capital Investments LLC Purchases 325 Shares of Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Zevenbergen Capital Investments LLC lifted its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,590 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 325 shares during the period. Zevenbergen Capital Investments LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $3,286,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 0.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,807,843 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,907,314,000 after buying an additional 286,818 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 7.3% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,782,173 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,663,474,000 after buying an additional 737,542 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 3.8% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,989,182 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $769,731,000 after buying an additional 181,628 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 0.7% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,135,296 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $637,993,000 after buying an additional 30,670 shares during the period. Finally, Select Equity Group L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 99.0% in the first quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 3,494,312 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $539,102,000 after buying an additional 1,738,372 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 81,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,602,669.60. This trade represents a 13.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.17, for a total transaction 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 represents a 17.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Paychex Price Performance

NASDAQ PAYX opened at $135.11 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $140.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $146.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.56, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.28. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $131.83 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. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.01% and a net margin of 29.75%.The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.38 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.12 EPS. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st were given a dividend of $1.08 per share. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 21st. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is 94.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on PAYX. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Paychex from $150.00 to $148.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 27th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Paychex in a report on Thursday, July 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $160.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group reduced their price target on Paychex from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $140.00 price target 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 company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $149.70.

Paychex 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.