Citigroup Inc. Has $103.62 Million Holdings in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Citigroup Inc. lowered its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 3.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 817,443 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 28,814 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $103,619,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of PAYX. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Paychex in the third quarter valued at $25,000. NewSquare Capital LLC raised 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 worth $31,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. MMA Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Paychex in the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. Westfuller Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC increased 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 valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on PAYX. Wolfe Research cut their target price on Paychex from $130.00 to $115.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $139.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $121.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Paychex in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Paychex in a research report on Monday, December 1st. One equities research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $123.94.

Paychex Stock Down 1.2%

PAYX opened at $91.24 on Monday. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $90.32 and a twelve month high of $161.24. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $106.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $118.45. The stock has a market cap of $32.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.69 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 (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 net margin of 26.45% and a return on equity of 46.38%. The company had revenue of $1.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.55 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.14 EPS. Paychex’s revenue was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.480-5.530 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $1.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 28th. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.7%. Paychex’s payout ratio is presently 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.