Paychex, Inc. $PAYX Stock Position Lessened by Parthenon LLC

Key Points

• Parthenon LLC reduced its stake in Paychex by 2.0%, now holding 249,905 shares valued at approximately $36.35 million, which constitutes about 4.2% of its portfolio.
• Several institutional investors have significantly increased their holdings in Paychex, with Select Equity Group boosting its stake by 99.0% and Neuberger Berman increasing by 117.6% in the first quarter.
• Paychex recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.08, with a payout ratio of 97.08% and a yield of 3.4%, to be distributed on November 26th.

Parthenon LLC lowered its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 2.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 249,905 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 5,015 shares during the period. Paychex makes up about 4.2% of Parthenon LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Parthenon LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Paychex worth $36,351,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PAYX. Select Equity Group L.P. boosted its stake in Paychex by 99.0% in the 1st quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 3,494,312 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $539,102,000 after purchasing an additional 1,738,372 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $134,192,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Paychex by 7.3% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,782,173 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,663,474,000 after acquiring an additional 737,542 shares during the period. Neuberger Berman Group LLC lifted its stake in Paychex by 117.6% during the 1st quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 1,217,092 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $187,512,000 after acquiring an additional 657,871 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in Paychex by 25.7% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,844,949 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $438,919,000 after acquiring an additional 581,410 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group set a $130.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $132.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Wolfe Research lowered their price target on shares of Paychex from $145.00 to $140.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Paychex from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Paychex from $153.00 to $140.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $141.29.

Paychex Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of PAYX opened at $126.56 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.55 billion, a PE ratio of 28.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.92. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $119.02 and a 1 year high of $161.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.27. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $132.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $142.78.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 30th. The business services provider reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.54 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 27.85% and a return on equity of 45.17%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.16 earnings per share. 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 company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Investors of record on Friday, November 7th will be issued a $1.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 7th. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 97.08%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.