Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Sells 10,345 Shares of Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp decreased its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 185,105 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 10,345 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned approximately 0.05% of Paychex worth $23,464,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 2nd quarter valued at about $302,244,000. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 179.5% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,078,328 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $156,854,000 after acquiring an additional 692,533 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Paychex by 29.2% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,542,901 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $369,901,000 after acquiring an additional 574,337 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Select Equity Group L.P. increased its position in Paychex by 15.9% during the 2nd quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 4,051,413 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $589,319,000 after purchasing an additional 557,101 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paychex Trading Down 0.4%

NASDAQ PAYX opened at $106.19 on Tuesday. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $105.29 and a 52 week high of $161.24. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $111.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $124.60. The company has a market cap of $38.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.08 and a beta of 0.91.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its earnings results on Friday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 last year, the business earned $1.14 EPS. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.480-5.530 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Friday, January 16th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 28th. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 97.96%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on PAYX shares. Wolfe Research reduced their price objective on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $115.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Paychex in a report on Monday, December 1st. Stephens decreased their price target on Paychex from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Paychex from $153.00 to $148.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Paychex from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Paychex has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target 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.