Paychex, Inc. $PAYX Stock Position Lifted by Envestnet Asset Management Inc.

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 1.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,979,330 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 30,117 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 0.55% of Paychex worth $250,900,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,954 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,012,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC lifted its holdings in Paychex by 0.7% in the second quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 11,267 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,639,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Quantum Portfolio Management LLC boosted its stake in Paychex by 3.1% in the second quarter. Quantum Portfolio Management LLC now owns 2,464 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $358,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Finally, Mission Wealth Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 4,244 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $617,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Paychex from $140.00 to $121.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $128.00 to $116.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Wolfe Research cut their price objective on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $115.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Paychex from $137.00 to $126.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Paychex in a research note on Monday, December 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $123.94.

Paychex Stock Down 0.3%

Paychex stock opened at $98.17 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $35.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.26 and a beta of 0.90. 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 company’s 50-day moving average price is $110.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $122.54. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $94.90 and a 52 week high of $161.24.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.26 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $1.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.55 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.14 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.480-5.530 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Friday, January 16th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Paychex Announces Dividend

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

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.