First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Lowers Position in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Key Points

• First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. reduced its stake in Paychex, Inc. by 17.5%, selling 4,434 shares and holding 20,920 shares valued at approximately $3,043,000.
• Paychex reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.22, beating estimates, with a year-over-year revenue increase of 16.8%.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.08 per share, scheduled to be paid on November 26th, representing an annualized yield of 3.5%.

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. cut its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 17.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,920 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 4,434 shares during the quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.'s holdings in Paychex were worth $3,043,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex during the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex during the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex during the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Tsfg LLC increased its position in shares of Paychex by 122.3% during the first quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 229 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nova Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex during the first quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Paychex Price Performance

Paychex stock opened at $124.75 on Friday. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $119.02 and a one year high of $161.24. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $131.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $142.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.03, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.92.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 30th. The business services provider reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.02. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.17% and a net margin of 27.85%.The firm had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.54 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.16 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.428-5.528 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 7th will be issued a $1.08 dividend. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 7th. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 97.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on PAYX. Wolfe Research decreased their price target on Paychex from $145.00 to $140.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Weiss Ratings raised Paychex from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Paychex from $153.00 to $148.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Paychex from $143.00 to $140.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Paychex to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Paychex presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $139.87.

Paychex Profile

Paychex, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides integrated human capital management solutions (HCM) for payroll, benefits, human resources (HR), and insurance services for small to medium-sized businesses in the United States, Europe, and India. It offers payroll processing services; payroll tax administration services; employee payment services; and regulatory compliance services, such as new-hire reporting and garnishment processing.

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