The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Decreases Holdings in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Posted by Francis Steltz on Aug 2nd, 2026

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lowered its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX – Free Report) by 7.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 185,933 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 14,880 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Paychex were worth $17,128,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of PAYX. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Paychex by 26.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,710 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $801,000 after buying an additional 1,190 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 4,035 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $566,000 after buying an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 1st quarter worth about $3,333,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in Paychex by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 41,081 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,976,000 after acquiring an additional 1,290 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in Paychex by 47.1% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 156,680 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $22,790,000 after acquiring an additional 50,169 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on PAYX. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “underweight” rating and set a $107.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Paychex from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Paychex from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Paychex from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Paychex from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $108.20.

Get Our Latest Stock Report on Paychex

Paychex Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $116.84 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $104.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $98.61. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $85.45 and a twelve month high of $146.83. The company has a market capitalization of $41.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.89 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, June 24th. The business services provider reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.01. Paychex had a net margin of 27.03% and a return on equity of 50.90%. The company had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.60 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.19 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.900-6.010 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 28th will be paid a dividend of $1.19 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 28th. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 97.34%.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In related news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 2,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.09, for a total transaction of $299,234.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 18,547 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,134,574.23. This trade represents a 12.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph M. Tucci sold 3,907 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.25, for a total transaction of $383,862.75. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 67,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,618,513. The trade was a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

About Paychex

(Free Report)

Paychex, Inc, founded in 1971 by B. Thomas “Tom” Golisano and headquartered in Rochester, New York, is a provider of payroll, human resources, and benefits outsourcing solutions for small- and medium-sized businesses. The company’s core services include payroll processing and tax filing, employee benefits administration, retirement services, and workers’ compensation administration, designed to simplify back-office operations and help clients comply with regulatory and tax requirements.

Paychex offers an integrated technology platform, marketed under the Paychex Flex brand, which delivers cloud-based payroll, HR, time and attendance, and reporting tools.