DAVENPORT & Co LLC Increases Holdings in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

DAVENPORT & Co LLC lifted its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 110.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 51,903 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 27,251 shares during the quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $5,822,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Paychex in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Stance Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the third quarter worth about $31,000. MMA Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the third quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Westfuller Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Paychex in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $93.59 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $33.60 billion, a PE ratio of 20.61 and a beta of 0.91. The company’s fifty day moving average is $97.04 and its 200 day moving average is $111.26. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $86.89 and a 52 week high of $161.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.04. Paychex had a net margin of 25.84% and a return on equity of 48.52%. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.78 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.49 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 19.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 28th were paid a $1.08 dividend. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 28th. Paychex’s payout ratio is 97.96%.

Paychex declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Friday, January 16th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Paychex News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Paychex this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q3 beat: PAYX reported EPS of $1.71 (vs. $1.67 est.) and revenue of $1.81B (+20% YoY), demonstrating demand and top-line momentum that supports recurring-service growth. Zacks: Paychex’s Q3 Earnings and Revenues Surpass Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Growth catalysts: Management highlighted AI initiatives and the Paycor acquisition as drivers of advisory and PEO growth that could expand addressable market and services revenue over time. MSN: PAYX Q1 deep dive: AI initiatives and Paycor integration
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts largely kept neutral/hold ratings after the print — several firms reiterated balanced views citing solid fundamentals but ongoing macro and execution risks. That keeps near-term analyst guidance mixed rather than uniformly bullish. TipRanks: Solid fundamentals but macro and AI headwinds
• Negative Sentiment: Price-target cuts and downgrades: Multiple major firms trimmed targets and/or ratings this morning — JPMorgan to $100 (underweight), Citigroup to $99 (neutral), Wells Fargo to $95 (underweight), TD Cowen to $95 (hold). Those moves increase downside/near-term selling pressure despite the beat. Benzinga: Analyst price-target updates
• Negative Sentiment: Margin/cost concerns: Some coverage noted rising costs and margin pressure despite robust revenue growth — investors are attentive to whether operating leverage will recover. That commentary contributed to volatile trading after the report. Blockonomi: Cost pressures overshadow performance

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on PAYX. Jefferies Financial Group set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, December 19th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Paychex from $121.00 to $103.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $102.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Guggenheim started coverage on shares of Paychex in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Paychex from $116.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. One 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 stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $114.56.

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.