Prudential PLC Increases Stake in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Prudential PLC increased its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 115.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,208 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,476 shares during the period. Prudential PLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $1,485,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 83.8% in the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 215 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Paychex in the first quarter worth $34,000. Nova Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the first quarter worth $38,000. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its stake 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 valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PAYX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $153.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Paychex in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $139.00 target price for the company. Stephens upgraded shares of Paychex to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Paychex in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Paychex to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $139.87.

Paychex Stock Performance

Paychex stock opened at $111.46 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $122.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $137.74. The stock has a market cap of $40.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.27. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $108.00 and a 1-year high of $161.24.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 30th. The business services provider reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.02. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.17% and a net margin of 27.85%.The company had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.16 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.428-5.528 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Investors of record on Friday, November 7th will be given a dividend of $1.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 7th. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 97.08%.

Paychex Company Profile

Paychex, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides integrated human capital management solutions (HCM) for payroll, benefits, human resources (HR), and insurance services for small to medium-sized businesses in the United States, Europe, and India. It offers payroll processing services; payroll tax administration services; employee payment services; and regulatory compliance services, such as new-hire reporting and garnishment processing.