Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Raises Stock Position in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 1.1% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,805,391 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 31,321 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Paychex were worth $355,650,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Empirical Finance LLC raised its position in shares of Paychex by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 11,267 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,639,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Quantum Portfolio Management LLC boosted its holdings in Paychex by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Quantum Portfolio Management LLC now owns 2,464 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $358,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC increased 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 buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 3.3% during the second quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 2,597 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $378,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Somerset Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 0.3% during the third quarter. Somerset Trust Co now owns 32,964 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,179,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Up 2.6%

Shares of PAYX opened at $98.32 on Friday. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $86.89 and a 52-week high of $161.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $102.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $115.90. The company has a market capitalization of $35.29 billion, a PE ratio of 22.29 and a beta of 0.91.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.26 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $1.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.55 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm 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. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 28th were issued a dividend of $1.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 28th. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.4%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 97.96%.

Paychex announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Friday, January 16th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Paychex from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Paychex from $133.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Paychex in a report on Monday, December 29th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Paychex from $139.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Wolfe Research decreased their price target on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $115.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $123.94.

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.