R Squared Ltd Makes New $1.15 Million Investment in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 9,054 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,148,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Paychex by 17.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,765,468 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,787,151,000 after purchasing an additional 5,549,511 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Paychex during the second quarter worth $302,244,000. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in Paychex by 179.5% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,078,328 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $156,854,000 after buying an additional 692,533 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 29.2% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,542,901 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $369,901,000 after acquiring an additional 574,337 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 209.1% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 838,679 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $106,311,000 after acquiring an additional 567,352 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on PAYX. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Paychex in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Paychex from $133.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Paychex to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. 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, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Paychex in a research note on Monday, December 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s 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 Price Performance

PAYX opened at $94.48 on Friday. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $86.89 and a 1 year high of $161.24. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $104.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $117.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.92 billion, a PE ratio of 21.42 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.27.

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

Paychex Dividend Announcement

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

Paychex announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Friday, January 16th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is 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.