Quantbot Technologies LP Takes $7.45 Million Position in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 58,769 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $7,450,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Empirical Finance LLC lifted its holdings in Paychex by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 11,267 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,639,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Quantum Portfolio Management LLC increased its position in shares of Paychex by 3.1% during the second quarter. Quantum Portfolio Management LLC now owns 2,464 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $358,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 40.6% in the second quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 263 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP boosted its holdings in Paychex by 1.9% in the second quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 4,244 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $617,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FAS Wealth Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in Paychex by 3.3% in the second quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 2,597 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $378,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Paychex Price Performance

PAYX opened at $93.65 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $33.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.24 and a beta of 0.90. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $86.89 and a fifty-two week high of $161.24. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $104.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $116.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its earnings results on Friday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.55 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 46.38% and a net margin of 26.45%.Paychex’s quarterly revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm 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 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

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

Paychex announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Friday, January 16th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Paychex from $128.00 to $116.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Argus dropped their price target 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. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Paychex from $137.00 to $126.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Stephens decreased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Paychex from $139.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Paychex has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $123.94.

Paychex 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.