New York State Teachers Retirement System Decreases Holdings in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Key Points

• The New York State Teachers Retirement System has reduced its stake in Paychex, Inc. by 0.7%, now holding 287,218 shares valued at about $41.8 million.
• Recent analyst ratings have been mostly negative, with Price targets reduced by several firms, reflecting a cautious outlook on the stock; JPMorgan cut its target from $153 to $140 and several others followed suit.
• Paychex announced a quarterly dividend of $1.08 per share, with an upcoming payment date of November 26th, representing an annual yield of 3.4%.

New York State Teachers Retirement System trimmed its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 287,218 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 2,058 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned 0.08% of Paychex worth $41,779,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of PAYX. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 26.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,710 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $801,000 after purchasing an additional 1,190 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 4,035 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $566,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 31.8% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,474 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,153,000 after purchasing an additional 1,804 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 32.6% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 119,291 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $18,404,000 after purchasing an additional 29,320 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sowell Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 1st quarter worth $421,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Paychex from $153.00 to $140.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Argus reduced their price objective on Paychex from $170.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Paychex from $153.00 to $148.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Paychex from $148.00 to $132.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Stephens upgraded Paychex to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Paychex currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $141.29.

Paychex Stock Down 0.8%

PAYX opened at $126.49 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $132.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $143.06. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $119.02 and a 52 week high of $161.24. The company has a market capitalization of $45.52 billion, a PE ratio of 28.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

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

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.08 per share. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 7th. Paychex's dividend payout ratio is 97.08%.

Paychex Company 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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