Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. Sells 6,219 Shares of Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lessened its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 9.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 62,155 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 6,219 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $7,879,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Paychex in the second quarter valued at approximately $302,244,000. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in Paychex by 179.5% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,078,328 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $156,854,000 after acquiring an additional 692,533 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Paychex by 29.2% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,542,901 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $369,901,000 after acquiring an additional 574,337 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 209.1% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 838,679 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $106,311,000 after purchasing an additional 567,352 shares during the period. Finally, Select Equity Group L.P. grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 15.9% in the second quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 4,051,413 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $589,319,000 after purchasing an additional 557,101 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on PAYX. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Paychex from $140.00 to $121.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Paychex from $139.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on Paychex from $150.00 to $125.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $132.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $125.67.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $106.63 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $111.88 and a 200-day moving average of $125.02. The company has a market cap of $38.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.18 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $106.47 and a 52 week high of $161.24.

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. Paychex had a net margin of 26.45% and a return on equity of 46.38%. The business had revenue of $1.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.55 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.14 earnings per share. Paychex’s revenue was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.480-5.530 EPS. On average, equities 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 issued a dividend of $1.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 28th. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. Paychex’s payout ratio is currently 97.96%.

Paychex announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Friday, January 16th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Paychex 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.