Bank of New York Mellon Corp Reduces Holdings in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Bank of New York Mellon Corp trimmed its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 35.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,584,032 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,108,354 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp’s holdings in Paychex were worth $707,832,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Paychex in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its holdings in Paychex by 83.8% during the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC boosted its position in Paychex by 40.6% during the 2nd 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 during the period. Westfuller Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex during the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Paychex by 94.0% in the 2nd quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 293 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Down 2.4%

PAYX stock opened at $102.45 on Thursday. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $102.09 and a fifty-two week high of $161.24. The company has a market capitalization of $36.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.23 and a beta of 0.91. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $111.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $124.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.27.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its earnings results on Friday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.56 billion during 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.14 EPS. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.480-5.530 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Friday, January 16th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.2%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 97.96%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on PAYX shares. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Paychex to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Paychex from $140.00 to $121.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Paychex in a research report on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Paychex from $140.00 to $132.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Paychex from $133.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. One equities research 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 MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $123.94.

Paychex 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.