Atria Investments Inc Sells 6,454 Shares of Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Atria Investments Inc decreased its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 11.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 47,614 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 6,454 shares during the quarter. Atria Investments Inc’s holdings in Paychex were worth $6,036,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of PAYX. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Paychex in the second quarter worth about $302,244,000. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in Paychex by 179.5% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,078,328 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $156,854,000 after buying an additional 692,533 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Paychex by 29.2% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,542,901 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $369,901,000 after buying an additional 574,337 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Paychex by 209.1% in 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. lifted its holdings in Paychex by 15.9% during 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 acquiring an additional 557,101 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PAYX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Paychex from $139.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Stephens reduced their target price on shares of Paychex from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Argus lowered their price target on shares of Paychex from $150.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 2nd. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Paychex in a report on Monday, December 1st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised Paychex to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $123.94.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $94.38 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $108.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $120.48. The company has a market cap of $33.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.40 and a beta of 0.90. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $91.70 and a twelve month high of $161.24. 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 (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.55 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 26.45% and a return on equity of 46.38%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.14 earnings per share. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.480-5.530 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business 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 4.6%. Paychex’s dividend 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 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.