Stock Buyback Plan Declared by Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Friday, January 16th, RTT News reports. The company plans to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Paychex from $153.00 to $148.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Paychex in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Paychex from $128.00 to $116.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Finally, Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Paychex in a research note on Monday, December 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $125.67.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $111.18 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $39.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.21 and a beta of 0.91. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $112.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $126.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.27. Paychex has a 1-year low of $107.80 and a 1-year high of $161.24.

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

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 28th will be given a dividend of $1.08 per share. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 28th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 97.96%.

Paychex Company 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.