J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Sells 5,248 Shares of Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG trimmed its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 45.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,378 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 5,248 shares during the period. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG’s holdings in Paychex were worth $808,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Paychex during the second quarter valued at approximately $302,244,000. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 179.5% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,078,328 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $156,854,000 after purchasing an additional 692,533 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Paychex by 29.2% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,542,901 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $369,901,000 after acquiring an additional 574,337 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in Paychex by 209.1% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 838,679 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $106,311,000 after purchasing an additional 567,352 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Select Equity Group L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 15.9% in the second quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 4,051,413 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $589,319,000 after buying an additional 557,101 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Paychex Stock Down 0.2%

PAYX opened at $102.23 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $36.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.18 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.27. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $111.43 and its 200 day moving average is $124.03. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $101.53 and a fifty-two week high of $161.24.

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

Paychex Dividend Announcement

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

Paychex declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Friday, January 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the business services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PAYX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Paychex from $137.00 to $126.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Paychex from $128.00 to $116.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Paychex in a research report on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on Paychex from $139.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $123.94.

About Paychex

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.