Live Oak Investment Partners Acquires Shares of 4,824 Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Live Oak Investment Partners acquired a new position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 4,824 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $556,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Paychex in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Paychex by 83.8% in the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 215 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC increased its position 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 valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 94.0% during the 2nd quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 293 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Finally, E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 193.2% during the 3rd quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 346 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on PAYX shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Paychex from $128.00 to $116.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Stephens cut their target price on shares of Paychex from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Paychex from $137.00 to $126.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on Paychex from $150.00 to $125.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $110.00 price objective on Paychex in a research note on Friday, December 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $125.67.

Paychex Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX opened at $111.18 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $39.91 billion, a PE ratio of 25.21 and a beta of 0.91. 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 12-month low of $107.80 and a 12-month high of $161.24. The company has a 50-day moving average of $112.25 and a 200 day moving average of $125.97.

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

Paychex announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Friday, January 16th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 28th will be issued a $1.08 dividend. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 28th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 97.96%.

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.