Xponance Inc. Cuts Position in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Xponance Inc. decreased its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 58,048 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 5,677 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $7,358,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its stake in Paychex by 83.8% in the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 215 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. MMA Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Paychex in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Westfuller Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Paychex during the third quarter worth $35,000. Finally, GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC boosted its position in Paychex by 40.6% during the second quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 263 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX opened at $93.65 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $33.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.24 and a beta of 0.90. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $104.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $116.93. 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, topping 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 previous year, the company earned $1.14 EPS. Paychex’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.480-5.530 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Friday, January 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the business services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm 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 was Wednesday, January 28th. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.6%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is 97.96%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on PAYX. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Paychex from $133.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Paychex in a research report on Monday, December 29th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Paychex from $140.00 to $121.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on Paychex from $139.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price 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.