ING Groep NV Invests $14.75 Million in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

ING Groep NV acquired a new stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 116,385 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $14,753,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of PAYX. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex in the third quarter valued at $25,000. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its holdings in Paychex by 83.8% during the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 215 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. MMA Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 40.6% in the 2nd quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 263 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. Finally, Westfuller Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the third quarter worth about $35,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on PAYX. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Paychex in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Stephens cut their target price on Paychex from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Citigroup lowered their price target on Paychex from $139.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” 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 on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $110.00 price target on Paychex in a research note on Friday, December 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $123.94.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX opened at $94.84 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $109.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $121.04. The stock has a market cap of $34.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.51 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $94.08 and a 12-month high of $161.24.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.03. Paychex had a return on equity of 46.38% and a net margin of 26.45%.The firm had revenue of $1.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.55 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.14 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.480-5.530 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex declared that its board has initiated a share buyback 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 often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 28th will be paid a $1.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 28th. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.6%. Paychex’s payout ratio is 97.96%.

About Paychex

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.