Bank of New York Mellon Corp Sells 3,108,354 Shares of Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lowered its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 35.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm 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 owned approximately 1.55% of Paychex worth $707,832,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Paychex in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. NewSquare Capital LLC increased 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 worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. Westfuller Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC boosted its holdings in Paychex by 40.6% in the 2nd 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 during the period. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Paychex by 94.0% during the 2nd quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 293 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stephens lowered their price objective on Paychex from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Citigroup reduced their target price on Paychex from $139.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $110.00 price target on Paychex in a report on Friday, December 19th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Paychex in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $133.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $123.94.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of Paychex stock opened at $102.45 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.78 billion, a PE ratio of 23.23 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $102.09 and a 12 month high of $161.24. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $111.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $124.18.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its earnings results on Friday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.03. Paychex had a return on equity of 46.38% and a net margin of 26.45%.The company had revenue of $1.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.55 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.14 EPS. Paychex’s quarterly revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.480-5.530 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 28th will be given a $1.08 dividend. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 28th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 97.96%.

Paychex declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Friday, January 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the business services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.