Naples Global Advisors LLC Acquires 3,383 Shares of Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Naples Global Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 5.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 60,683 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,383 shares during the quarter. Paychex comprises 0.8% of Naples Global Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. Naples Global Advisors LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $8,827,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. Tsfg LLC grew its position in shares of Paychex by 122.3% in the 1st quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 229 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nova Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the first quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Paychex Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $124.01 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $136.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $144.72. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $119.02 and a 52-week high of $161.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.60 billion, a PE ratio of 27.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.92.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 30th. The business services provider reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.02. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.17% and a net margin of 27.85%.The business had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.16 earnings per share. Paychex’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.428-5.528 EPS. Analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 21st were issued a dividend of $1.08 per share. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 21st. Paychex’s payout ratio is currently 94.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PAYX has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup dropped their price target on Paychex from $158.00 to $148.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Paychex from $142.00 to $137.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays set a $155.00 price target on Paychex and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Paychex from $143.00 to $140.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Paychex from $153.00 to $148.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $142.83.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chairman directly owned 446,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $64,878,940.89. This represents a 17.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of the company’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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 81,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,602,669.60. This trade represents a 13.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

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.