Paychex, Inc. $PAYX Shares Acquired by Rathbones Group PLC

Rathbones Group PLC boosted its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 13.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 182,224 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,945 shares during the quarter. Rathbones Group PLC owned about 0.05% of Paychex worth $23,099,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in 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. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 2.6% in 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 buying an additional 355,294 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Paychex by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,033,312 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,604,906,000 after buying an additional 251,139 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Paychex by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,183,871 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,481,053,000 after buying an additional 274,947 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Paychex by 6.0% during the 2nd 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. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on PAYX shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Paychex from $133.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Paychex from $128.00 to $116.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $110.00 target price on Paychex in a report on Friday, December 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on Paychex from $150.00 to $125.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Argus dropped their price target on Paychex from $150.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Paychex presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $123.94.

Paychex Stock Up 2.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $100.85 on Monday. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $86.89 and a 1-year 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 stock has a market cap of $36.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.87 and a beta of 0.91. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $102.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $115.32.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 analyst estimates of $1.55 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.14 earnings per share. Paychex’s quarterly revenue was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.480-5.530 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

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

Paychex declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan 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 reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is 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.