Paychex, Inc. $PAYX Shares Sold by Ameriprise Financial Inc.

Ameriprise Financial Inc. cut its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 11.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,025,524 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 255,191 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.56% of Paychex worth $254,249,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Paychex by 17.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,765,468 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,787,151,000 after acquiring an additional 5,549,511 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the second quarter valued at about $302,244,000. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in shares of Paychex by 179.5% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,078,328 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $156,854,000 after purchasing an additional 692,533 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Paychex by 29.2% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,542,901 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $369,901,000 after purchasing an additional 574,337 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 209.1% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Price Performance

Paychex stock opened at $93.10 on Tuesday. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $86.89 and a 1 year high of $161.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.27. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $100.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $113.43. The company has a market cap of $33.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.11 and a beta of 0.91.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted 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. The company had revenue of $1.56 billion for 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%. Paychex’s revenue was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.14 earnings per share. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.480-5.530 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 28th were paid a dividend of $1.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 28th. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.6%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 97.96%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on Paychex from $150.00 to $125.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 5th. 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. Wolfe Research cut their price target on Paychex from $130.00 to $115.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Paychex in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Paychex from $128.00 to $116.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. One research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $122.81.

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.