Caprock Group LLC Invests $1.14 Million in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Caprock Group LLC bought a new stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 8,199 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,143,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PAYX. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its stake in Paychex by 83.8% during the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 215 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. MMA Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Paychex in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 40.6% during the second quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 263 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westfuller Advisors LLC bought a new position in Paychex during the third quarter worth $35,000. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of Paychex stock opened at $94.38 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.40 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. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $108.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $120.29. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $91.70 and a 12-month 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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.55 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 26.45% and a return on equity of 46.38%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.14 earnings per share. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.480-5.530 EPS. Research analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback 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 reacquire up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 28th will be issued a dividend of $1.08 per share. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 28th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 97.96%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on PAYX. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Paychex from $128.00 to $116.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Argus cut their price target on Paychex from $150.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 2nd. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Paychex in a report on Monday, December 1st. Wolfe Research reduced their target price on Paychex from $130.00 to $115.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Paychex from $133.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $123.94.

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.