GSA Capital Partners LLP Makes New $1.88 Million Investment in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 14,806 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,877,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PAYX. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Paychex by 83.8% during the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 215 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. MMA Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex in the third quarter valued at $32,000. Westfuller Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Paychex in the third quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC grew its stake in Paychex by 40.6% during the 2nd quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 263 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on PAYX shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on Paychex from $150.00 to $125.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 5th. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Paychex in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Stephens dropped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of 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 target price on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $123.94.

Paychex Trading Up 2.1%

NASDAQ PAYX opened at $94.38 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $108.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $119.76. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $91.70 and a 12 month high of $161.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The company has a market capitalization of $33.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.40 and a beta of 0.90.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.55 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.14 earnings per share. Paychex’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.480-5.530 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Friday, January 16th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 28th will be given a dividend of $1.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 28th. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.6%. Paychex’s payout ratio is 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.