Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Buys 10,715 Shares of Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 445,454 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 10,715 shares during the quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. owned 0.12% of Paychex worth $56,466,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its holdings in Paychex by 83.8% during the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 215 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Westfuller Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex in the third quarter worth about $35,000. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 40.6% in the second quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 263 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 94.0% during the 2nd quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 293 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on PAYX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered 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. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Paychex in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $110.00 price objective on Paychex in a research report on Friday, December 19th. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Paychex in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Paychex from $137.00 to $126.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. One 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $123.94.

Paychex Trading Down 2.4%

NASDAQ PAYX opened at $102.45 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $111.56 and a 200 day moving average of $124.18. The company has a market capitalization of $36.78 billion, a PE ratio of 23.23 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.27. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $102.09 and a 1 year high of $161.24.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 46.38% and a net margin of 26.45%.Paychex’s quarterly revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.14 EPS. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.480-5.530 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 28th will be paid a $1.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 28th. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.2%. Paychex’s payout ratio is presently 97.96%.

Paychex announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Friday, January 16th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors 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.