Barclays PLC Has $235.29 Million Position in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 38.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,856,157 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 511,728 shares during the period. Barclays PLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $235,286,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Paychex by 17.2% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,765,468 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,787,151,000 after buying an additional 5,549,511 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 2.6% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 2.3% in the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,033,312 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,604,906,000 after acquiring an additional 251,139 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 2.8% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,183,871 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,481,053,000 after acquiring an additional 274,947 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 6.0% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,384,846 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $637,820,000 after acquiring an additional 249,550 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Trading Up 2.5%

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $100.85 on Friday. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $86.89 and a 12 month high of $161.24. The company has a market cap of $36.20 billion, a PE ratio of 22.87 and a beta of 0.91. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $102.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $115.65.

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

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 28th were given a dividend of $1.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 28th. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.3%. Paychex’s payout ratio is currently 97.96%.

Paychex announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Friday, January 16th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on PAYX. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Paychex to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Paychex from $137.00 to $126.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Wolfe Research reduced their price target on Paychex from $130.00 to $115.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Paychex in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on Paychex from $150.00 to $125.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $123.94.

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.