Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Purchases 25,473 Shares of Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 3.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 671,053 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 25,473 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $85,063,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. ABC Arbitrage SA raised its holdings in Paychex by 61.4% in the third quarter. ABC Arbitrage SA now owns 28,208 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,576,000 after purchasing an additional 10,726 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in Paychex during the 3rd quarter worth $1,877,000. Summit Global Investments raised its stake in Paychex by 1,938.2% during the 3rd quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 48,143 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,103,000 after buying an additional 45,781 shares during the period. Alps Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Paychex by 20.6% during the third quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 240,564 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $30,494,000 after acquiring an additional 41,114 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Paychex by 6.0% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,384,846 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $637,820,000 after acquiring an additional 249,550 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on PAYX shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Paychex from $133.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock 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 report on Tuesday, December 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Paychex from $150.00 to $125.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 5th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $139.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Argus reduced their target price on shares of Paychex from $150.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $123.94.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $93.65 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $104.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $117.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The firm has a market cap of $33.62 billion, a PE ratio of 21.24 and a beta of 0.90. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $86.89 and a 12 month high of $161.24.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its earnings results on Friday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.03. Paychex had a net margin of 26.45% and a return on equity of 46.38%. The business had revenue of $1.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.55 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.14 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.480-5.530 EPS. Equities research analysts expect 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 28th were issued a dividend of $1.08 per share. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 28th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.