Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Reduces Holdings in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans decreased its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 20.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 22,484 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 5,767 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Paychex were worth $2,850,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PAYX. Summit Global Investments increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 1,938.2% in the third 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 period. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,384,846 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $637,820,000 after purchasing an additional 249,550 shares during the period. Arkadios Wealth Advisors increased its stake in Paychex by 8.6% during the second quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 53,974 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,851,000 after acquiring an additional 4,254 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 48.9% during the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,260,376 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $155,341,000 after purchasing an additional 414,196 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its position in shares of Paychex by 67.3% during the third quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 101,622 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $12,882,000 after purchasing an additional 40,872 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Trading Down 0.4%

NASDAQ PAYX opened at $98.09 on Tuesday. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $94.90 and a one year high of $161.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The firm has a market cap of $35.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.24 and a beta of 0.90. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $109.78 and its 200-day moving average is $121.57.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.03. Paychex had a net margin of 26.45% and a return on equity of 46.38%. The company had revenue of $1.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.55 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.14 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.480-5.530 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 28th will be paid a dividend of $1.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 28th. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.4%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 97.96%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PAYX. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Paychex in a report on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Paychex from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Paychex from $128.00 to $116.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Paychex to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered their price objective on Paychex from $130.00 to $115.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus 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.