Baillie Gifford & Co. Lowers Stock Holdings in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Baillie Gifford & Co. cut its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 3.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 308,805 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 9,418 shares during the period. Baillie Gifford & Co. owned about 0.09% of Paychex worth $39,144,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its position in Paychex by 83.8% in the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 215 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Westfuller Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex in the third quarter worth $35,000. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC increased its position in shares of Paychex by 40.6% during the second quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 263 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Paychex by 94.0% during the second quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 293 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on PAYX shares. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Paychex in a report on Monday, December 1st. Wolfe Research reduced their price target on Paychex from $130.00 to $115.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Argus decreased their price objective on Paychex from $150.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Paychex from $137.00 to $126.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Paychex from $139.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $125.67.

Paychex Trading Down 0.5%

PAYX opened at $106.63 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.27. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $106.47 and a one year high of $161.24. The company has a market cap of $38.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.18 and a beta of 0.91. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $111.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $125.02.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced 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. The firm had revenue of $1.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.55 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 46.38% and a net margin of 26.45%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.14 earnings per share. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.480-5.530 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 28th will be given a $1.08 dividend. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 28th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 97.96%.

Paychex declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Friday, January 16th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.