Capital International Investors Has $2.41 Billion Stock Holdings in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Capital International Investors decreased its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 15.5% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 19,021,879 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,492,299 shares during the quarter. Capital International Investors owned approximately 0.05% of Paychex worth $2,411,984,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Paychex during the third quarter worth about $25,000. MMA Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Paychex during the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. Westfuller Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Caitlin John LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 228 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of Paychex stock opened at $98.30 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.29 billion, a PE ratio of 22.29 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $101.94 and its 200 day moving average is $115.04. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $86.89 and a 1 year high of $161.24.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the firm earned $1.14 EPS. The firm’s revenue 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 forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 28th. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.4%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 97.96%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Paychex from $137.00 to $126.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Paychex from $133.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 22nd. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Paychex in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised Paychex to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Paychex has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $123.94.

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.