Quantbot Technologies LP Takes Position in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 58,769 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $7,450,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Caitlin John LLC acquired a new position in Paychex during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Andra AP fonden raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 48.1% during the third quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 163,200 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $20,687,000 after purchasing an additional 53,021 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the third quarter valued at about $1,148,000. Integrated Advisors Network LLC lifted its holdings in Paychex by 2.3% in the third quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 4,410 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $559,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. Finally, Westpac Banking Corp grew its position in Paychex by 317.3% in the 3rd quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 7,820 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $991,000 after buying an additional 5,946 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on PAYX. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Paychex to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Paychex from $139.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Paychex from $133.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $121.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Finally, Wolfe Research cut their price target on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $115.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Paychex presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $123.94.

Paychex Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of PAYX opened at $93.65 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $104.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $116.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.24 and a beta of 0.90. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $86.89 and a 1-year high of $161.24.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its earnings results on Friday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 26.45% and a return on equity of 46.38%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.14 earnings per share. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.480-5.530 EPS. Analysts expect 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 was paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 28th were paid a $1.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 28th. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.6%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 97.96%.

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