Paychex, Inc. $PAYX Stake Raised by Rafferty Asset Management LLC

Rafferty Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 14.3% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 123,353 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 15,430 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $15,636,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of PAYX. Empirical Finance LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 11,267 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,639,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Quantum Portfolio Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Quantum Portfolio Management LLC now owns 2,464 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $358,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 40.6% during the 2nd quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 263 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 1.9% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, FAS Wealth Partners Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 3.3% in the 2nd 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Down 0.9%

PAYX opened at $93.65 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $104.01 and a 200-day moving average of $116.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.24 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 1-year low of $86.89 and a 1-year high of $161.24.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $1.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.55 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.14 EPS. The business’s quarterly 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. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

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

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on PAYX shares. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Paychex from $150.00 to $125.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $110.00 price target on Paychex in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Wolfe Research lowered their price objective on Paychex from $130.00 to $115.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Paychex in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Stephens decreased their target price on Paychex from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Paychex presently 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.