Metis Global Partners LLC Purchases 731 Shares of Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Metis Global Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 4.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,237 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 731 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $2,653,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 83.8% in the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 215 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Nova Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 1st quarter valued at about $38,000. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 40.6% in the 2nd quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 263 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 94.0% in the 2nd quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 293 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Paychex Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $111.96 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $127.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $140.21. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $110.70 and a 1-year high of $161.24. The company has a market cap of $40.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.27.

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

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 7th. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 97.08%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stephens raised shares of Paychex to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Argus cut their price target on Paychex from $170.00 to $150.00 in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Paychex from $143.00 to $140.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Jefferies Financial Group set a $130.00 price objective on Paychex in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Finally, Wolfe Research reduced their target price on shares of Paychex from $145.00 to $140.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $139.87.

About Paychex

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.