Paychex, Inc. $PAYX is Lafayette Investments Inc.’s 8th Largest Position

Lafayette Investments Inc. grew its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 88,064 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,242 shares during the quarter. Paychex comprises approximately 2.6% of Lafayette Investments Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Lafayette Investments Inc.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $12,810,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new position in Paychex in the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex in the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Paychex during the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Tsfg LLC lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 122.3% during the first quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 229 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the period. Finally, Nova Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Paychex during the first quarter worth approximately $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Price Performance

PAYX stock opened at $126.59 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $45.56 billion, a PE ratio of 28.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $132.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $142.59. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $119.02 and a 12-month high of $161.24.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 30th. The business services provider reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.02. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.17% and a net margin of 27.85%.The business had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.16 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.428-5.528 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 7th will be given a $1.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 7th. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 97.08%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PAYX has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group cut their price target on Paychex from $140.00 to $132.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Weiss Ratings raised Paychex from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays set a $155.00 target price on Paychex and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Paychex from $132.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Paychex from $143.00 to $140.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $141.36.

Paychex Company Profile

Paychex, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides integrated human capital management solutions (HCM) for payroll, benefits, human resources (HR), and insurance services for small to medium-sized businesses in the United States, Europe, and India. It offers payroll processing services; payroll tax administration services; employee payment services; and regulatory compliance services, such as new-hire reporting and garnishment processing.