First Trust Advisors LP Decreases Stock Holdings in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

First Trust Advisors LP lessened its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,813,131 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 46,347 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Paychex were worth $229,833,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 17.2% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Paychex by 2.6% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,066,067 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,046,050,000 after acquiring an additional 355,294 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Paychex by 2.3% in the second 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 last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Paychex by 2.8% in 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. increased its position in shares of Paychex by 6.0% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,384,846 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $637,820,000 after purchasing an additional 249,550 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Paychex Stock Up 2.5%

PAYX stock opened at $100.85 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $36.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.87 and a beta of 0.91. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $86.89 and a 12 month high of $161.24. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $102.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $115.48. 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 (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its earnings results on Friday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.55 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 26.45% and a return on equity of 46.38%. The firm’s revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.14 earnings per share. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.480-5.530 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share 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 was Wednesday, January 28th. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.3%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 97.96%.

Paychex declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Friday, January 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the business services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on PAYX shares. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on Paychex from $150.00 to $125.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Paychex in a research report on Monday, December 29th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Paychex from $140.00 to $121.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Paychex from $139.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Paychex from $133.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price 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.