Neuberger Berman Group LLC Sells 121,986 Shares of Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Neuberger Berman Group LLC cut its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,142,296 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 121,986 shares during the period. Neuberger Berman Group LLC owned about 0.32% of Paychex worth $144,858,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Empirical Finance LLC raised its stake in Paychex by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 11,267 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,639,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Quantum Portfolio Management LLC grew its stake in Paychex by 3.1% in the second quarter. Quantum Portfolio Management LLC now owns 2,464 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $358,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC grew its stake in Paychex by 40.6% in the second quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 263 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 3.3% in the second quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 2,597 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $378,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Somerset Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 0.3% in the third quarter. Somerset Trust Co now owns 32,964 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,179,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on PAYX shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Paychex from $128.00 to $116.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Paychex in a research report on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Paychex from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Paychex from $150.00 to $125.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Paychex to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $123.94.

Paychex Trading Up 2.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $100.85 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $102.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $115.65. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $86.89 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 stock has a market capitalization of $36.20 billion, a PE ratio of 22.87 and a beta of 0.91.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $1.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.55 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 46.38% and a net margin of 26.45%.Paychex’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.14 EPS. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.480-5.530 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Friday, January 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the business services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 28th were paid a $1.08 dividend. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 28th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 97.96%.

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.