JPMorgan Chase & Co. Lowers Stock Holdings in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 35.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,645,897 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 897,004 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $208,643,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its holdings in Paychex by 83.8% in the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 215 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. MMA Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Paychex during the third quarter worth $32,000. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC lifted its holdings 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 valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westfuller Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Paychex during the third quarter valued at $35,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Paychex Stock Down 1.2%

PAYX stock opened at $91.24 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $106.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $118.74. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $90.32 and a 12 month high of $161.24. The company has a market cap of $32.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.69 and a beta of 0.90.

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. Paychex had a return on equity of 46.38% and a net margin of 26.45%.The business had revenue of $1.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.55 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.14 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 Dividend Announcement

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 4.7%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 28th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 97.96%.

Paychex declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase 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 buy up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on PAYX shares. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on shares of Paychex from $150.00 to $125.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Argus lowered their price objective on Paychex from $150.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Paychex from $137.00 to $126.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Paychex in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Paychex from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “underweight” 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 given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus 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.