Paychex, Inc. $PAYX Holdings Raised by AE Wealth Management LLC

AE Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 222.4% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 12,156 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,385 shares during the quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $1,541,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Paychex by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,215,957 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,686,133,000 after buying an additional 408,114 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Paychex by 2.6% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,066,067 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,046,050,000 after acquiring an additional 355,294 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 2.3% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,033,312 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,604,906,000 after purchasing an additional 251,139 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Paychex by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,183,871 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,481,053,000 after purchasing an additional 274,947 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of 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. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paychex Stock Performance

PAYX stock opened at $102.47 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $111.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $123.20. The company has a market capitalization of $36.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.24 and a beta of 0.90. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $101.04 and a fifty-two week high of $161.24.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released 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. The company had revenue of $1.56 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.55 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 26.45% and a return on equity of 46.38%. Paychex’s revenue was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.14 EPS. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.480-5.530 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

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

Paychex announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Friday, January 16th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Paychex from $140.00 to $121.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Stephens reduced their price target on shares of Paychex from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Morgan Stanley lowered 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 report on Monday, December 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued 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, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Paychex presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $123.94.

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.