Paychex, Inc. $PAYX Shares Purchased by MAI Capital Management

MAI Capital Management lifted its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 113.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,327 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,036 shares during the quarter. MAI Capital Management’s holdings in Paychex were worth $3,591,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its position in Paychex by 83.8% in the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 215 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. MMA Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex during the third quarter worth $32,000. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC increased its stake in Paychex by 40.6% during the second quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 263 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westfuller Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex in the third quarter valued at $35,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on PAYX shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Paychex from $137.00 to $126.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Paychex from $128.00 to $116.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Morgan Stanley decreased 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Paychex in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $123.94.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of PAYX opened at $93.65 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.24 and a beta of 0.90. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $104.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $117.05. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $86.89 and a twelve month high of $161.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its earnings results on Friday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $1.55 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.14 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.480-5.530 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 28th were given a dividend of $1.08 per share. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 28th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 97.96%.

Paychex announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Friday, January 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the business services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management 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.