Ascent Group LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Ascent Group LLC raised its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 35.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,193 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,254 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $2,560,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of PAYX. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Paychex by 26.3% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,710 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $801,000 after buying an additional 1,190 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Paychex by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 4,035 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $566,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Paychex in the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Paychex by 10.3% in the first quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 38,265 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,904,000 after purchasing an additional 3,566 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec raised its holdings in Paychex by 89.7% during the first quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec now owns 17,666 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,726,000 after purchasing an additional 8,353 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wolfe Research dropped their price target on Paychex from $130.00 to $115.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Paychex from $153.00 to $148.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Argus reduced their price target on shares of Paychex from $170.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Paychex from $133.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Paychex currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $127.00.

Paychex Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $112.18 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $40.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.44 and a beta of 0.91. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $113.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $129.44. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $108.00 and a fifty-two week high of $161.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.03. Paychex had a net margin of 26.45% and a return on equity of 46.38%. The firm had revenue of $1.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.55 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.14 earnings per share. Paychex’s revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.480-5.530 EPS. Analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 7th were issued a dividend of $1.08 per share. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 7th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 97.96%.

Paychex Profile

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.