Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC Has $5.58 Million Holdings in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC cut its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 10.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 43,996 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 5,255 shares during the period. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $5,577,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 17.2% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,765,468 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,787,151,000 after purchasing an additional 5,549,511 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex in the second quarter valued at approximately $302,244,000. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 179.5% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,078,328 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $156,854,000 after purchasing an additional 692,533 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Paychex by 29.2% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,542,901 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $369,901,000 after purchasing an additional 574,337 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Paychex by 209.1% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 838,679 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $106,311,000 after buying an additional 567,352 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PAYX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Stephens decreased their price objective on Paychex from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Paychex from $128.00 to $116.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Paychex in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Paychex from $137.00 to $126.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Paychex from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $123.94.

Paychex Price Performance

PAYX opened at $100.85 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $102.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $115.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.27. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $86.89 and a 52 week high of $161.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.20 billion, a PE ratio of 22.87 and a beta of 0.91.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its earnings results on Friday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.03. The company 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%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.14 EPS. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.480-5.530 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

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

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

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.