California Public Employees Retirement System Trims Position in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

California Public Employees Retirement System lessened its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 17.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,014,929 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 211,732 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.28% of Paychex worth $128,652,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Paychex in the third quarter valued at $25,000. MMA Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Paychex in the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Westfuller Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Caitlin John LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Wealth Watch Advisors INC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 3rd quarter valued at about $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on PAYX. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Paychex in a research report on Monday, December 29th. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Paychex in a report on Monday, December 1st. Argus cut their price objective on Paychex from $150.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 2nd. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Paychex from $133.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on Paychex from $150.00 to $125.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Paychex has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $122.81.

Paychex Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of Paychex stock opened at $92.61 on Monday. 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 $33.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.00 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a 50-day moving average of $100.48 and a 200 day moving average of $113.75. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.55 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 26.45% and a return on equity of 46.38%. Paychex’s quarterly revenue was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.14 earnings per share. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.480-5.530 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

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

Paychex declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Friday, January 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the business services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are 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.