Rafferty Asset Management LLC Boosts Stake in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Rafferty Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 14.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 123,353 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring 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 filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PAYX. ABC Arbitrage SA increased its position in shares of Paychex by 61.4% in the 3rd quarter. ABC Arbitrage SA now owns 28,208 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,576,000 after purchasing an additional 10,726 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in Paychex in the third quarter worth about $1,877,000. Summit Global Investments increased its holdings in Paychex by 1,938.2% in the third quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 48,143 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,103,000 after buying an additional 45,781 shares during the last quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Paychex by 20.6% in the third quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 240,564 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $30,494,000 after buying an additional 41,114 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Paychex by 6.0% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,384,846 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $637,820,000 after buying an additional 249,550 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of PAYX opened at $93.65 on Friday. The firm 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.27. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $104.01 and its 200-day moving average is $116.93. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $86.89 and a one year high of $161.24.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.03. The company 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%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.14 EPS. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.480-5.530 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 28th were issued a $1.08 dividend. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 28th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 97.96%.

Paychex announced that its board has initiated a share buyback 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 reacquire up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on PAYX. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Paychex from $137.00 to $126.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Paychex from $128.00 to $116.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Paychex in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wolfe Research lowered their price objective on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $115.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. 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 report on Monday, December 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $123.94.

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.