Entropy Technologies LP Makes New Investment in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 43,767 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,548,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 5,549,511 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake 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 worth $2,046,050,000 after purchasing an additional 355,294 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 2.3% during the 2nd 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 purchasing an additional 251,139 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 2.8% during 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 purchasing an additional 274,947 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Paychex by 6.0% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,384,846 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $637,820,000 after purchasing an additional 249,550 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PAYX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wolfe Research reduced their target price on Paychex from $130.00 to $115.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Paychex from $137.00 to $126.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Paychex from $150.00 to $125.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 5th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $121.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned 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 target price of $123.94.

Paychex Stock Down 2.5%

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX opened at $91.67 on Friday. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $86.89 and a 1 year high of $161.24. The firm has a market cap of $32.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.79 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.27. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $100.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $114.41.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 46.38% and a net margin of 26.45%.The firm 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 business 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. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 28th were issued a $1.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 28th. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.7%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 97.96%.

Paychex announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Friday, January 16th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.