Paychex, Inc. $PAYX Shares Sold by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc decreased its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,421,968 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 149,616 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Paychex were worth $307,009,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Paychex during the third quarter worth about $25,000. MMA Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Westfuller Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Caitlin John LLC acquired a new position in Paychex during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 193.2% during the 3rd quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 346 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PAYX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Paychex in a report on Monday, December 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on Paychex from $150.00 to $125.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 5th. Stephens reduced their target price on Paychex from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Paychex from $137.00 to $126.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $121.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $123.94.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $94.00 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.32 and a beta of 0.91. 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 business’s 50 day simple moving average is $101.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $114.57. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $86.89 and a 12 month high of $161.24.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released 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 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%.Paychex’s quarterly revenue was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.14 EPS. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.480-5.530 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

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

Paychex announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Friday, January 16th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.