Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) Upgraded at Cantor Fitzgerald

Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) to a strong sell rating in a research report report published on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts have also commented on PAYX. Wolfe Research decreased their price objective on Paychex from $130.00 to $115.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Paychex from $140.00 to $132.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Paychex in a report on Monday, December 29th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Paychex from $139.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $150.00 to $125.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $123.94.

Paychex Stock Performance

PAYX stock opened at $102.23 on Tuesday. Paychex has a one year low of $101.53 and a one year high of $161.24. The firm has a market cap of $36.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.18 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.27. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $111.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $124.03.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $1.55 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.14 EPS. The company’s quarterly 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. On average, equities analysts forecast that Paychex will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 28th will be paid a $1.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 28th. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.2%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 97.96%.

Paychex announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Friday, January 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the business services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Paychex

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PAYX. Arkadios Wealth Advisors raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 8.6% in the second quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 53,974 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,851,000 after acquiring an additional 4,254 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Paychex by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,384,846 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $637,820,000 after purchasing an additional 249,550 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its position in Paychex by 67.3% in the 3rd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 101,622 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $12,882,000 after purchasing an additional 40,872 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 48.9% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,260,376 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $155,341,000 after buying an additional 414,196 shares during the period. Finally, Aberdeen Group plc grew its position in shares of Paychex by 10.8% during the second quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 255,076 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $36,716,000 after buying an additional 24,820 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

About Paychex

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.