Cornerstone Advisors LLC Reduces Stake in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Cornerstone Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 55.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,900 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 7,300 shares during the period. Cornerstone Advisors LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $748,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Paychex by 26.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,710 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $801,000 after acquiring an additional 1,190 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC boosted its position in Paychex by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 4,035 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $566,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP bought a new position in Paychex during the first quarter worth about $3,333,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 42.6% in the second quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 2,525 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $367,000 after purchasing an additional 754 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brookstone Capital Management raised its position in shares of Paychex by 1.3% in the second quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 16,857 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,452,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX opened at $92.34 on Friday. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $91.70 and a 12-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. The company has a market cap of $33.15 billion, a PE ratio of 20.94 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $106.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $119.08.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its earnings results on Friday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $1.56 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.55 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.14 earnings per share. Paychex’s quarterly revenue was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.480-5.530 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 28th will be paid a $1.08 dividend. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 28th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 97.96%.

Paychex declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Friday, January 16th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on PAYX shares. Stephens reduced their price objective on shares of Paychex from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Paychex from $140.00 to $121.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Paychex from $137.00 to $126.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Wolfe Research decreased their price objective on Paychex from $130.00 to $115.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Paychex from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Paychex has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $123.94.

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.