Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) Sets New 12-Month Low – Time to Sell?

Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) shares hit a new 52-week low during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $106.40 and last traded at $106.0450, with a volume of 137063 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $106.63.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Argus decreased their price objective on Paychex from $150.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 2nd. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Paychex from $139.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $110.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Wolfe Research reduced their target price on Paychex from $130.00 to $115.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $132.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $123.94.

Paychex Trading Down 2.4%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $111.70 and its 200-day moving average is $124.33. The firm has a market cap of $36.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.23 and a beta of 0.91.

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

Paychex Dividend Announcement

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

Paychex announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Friday, January 16th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Absher Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Paychex by 25.0% during the 4th quarter. Absher Wealth Management LLC now owns 273,824 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $30,718,000 after acquiring an additional 54,824 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC raised its stake in Paychex by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 13,972 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,490,000 after acquiring an additional 305 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 16.3% during the 4th quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG now owns 33,583 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,775,000 after buying an additional 4,712 shares in the last quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,237 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $139,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the period. Finally, Alesco Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Paychex by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Alesco Advisors LLC now owns 14,711 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,650,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

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.