Paychex, Inc. $PAYX Shares Sold by Capital Group Private Client Services Inc.

Capital Group Private Client Services Inc. decreased its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 87.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 46,502 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 315,020 shares during the quarter. Capital Group Private Client Services Inc.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $5,895,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. ABC Arbitrage SA grew its position in shares of Paychex by 61.4% in the third quarter. ABC Arbitrage SA now owns 28,208 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,576,000 after purchasing an additional 10,726 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,877,000. Summit Global Investments raised its position in shares of Paychex by 1,938.2% during the 3rd quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 48,143 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,103,000 after purchasing an additional 45,781 shares during the last quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Paychex by 20.6% in the 3rd quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 240,564 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $30,494,000 after buying an additional 41,114 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Paychex by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,384,846 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $637,820,000 after buying an additional 249,550 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paychex Trading Down 3.2%

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $95.12 on Wednesday. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $86.89 and a 1-year high of $161.24. The firm has a market cap of $34.15 billion, a PE ratio of 21.57 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a 50-day moving average of $101.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $114.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.27.

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 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 in the previous year, the firm earned $1.14 EPS. The business’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, analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 28th were given 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 4.5%. Paychex’s payout ratio is presently 97.96%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

PAYX has been the subject of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Paychex from $140.00 to $121.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Paychex from $128.00 to $116.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Paychex from $139.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Paychex from $137.00 to $126.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Paychex in a report 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Paychex has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $123.94.

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.