Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI Purchases 7,866 Shares of Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI grew its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 60.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 20,926 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 7,866 shares during the quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI’s holdings in Paychex were worth $2,653,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PAYX. Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its position in Paychex by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 69,161 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,767,000 after acquiring an additional 373 shares during the last quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 1.9% in the third quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 5,342 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $677,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Paychex by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 18,198 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,307,000 after buying an additional 646 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd lifted its holdings in Paychex by 220.5% during the 3rd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 140,662 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $17,830,000 after buying an additional 96,777 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. boosted its position in Paychex by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 122,580 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $15,538,000 after buying an additional 1,400 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Paychex Trading Down 0.5%

PAYX opened at $106.63 on Monday. 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 firm has a market cap of $38.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.18 and a beta of 0.91. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $106.47 and a 12 month high of $161.24. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $111.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $124.88.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its earnings results on Friday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.14 earnings per share. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.480-5.530 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Friday, January 16th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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 given a dividend of $1.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 28th. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 97.96%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PAYX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wolfe Research decreased their price target on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $115.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Paychex in a research report on Monday, December 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Paychex from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Argus decreased their price objective on Paychex from $150.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $121.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. 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, Paychex has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $125.67.

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.