Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Sells 139,246 Shares of Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lessened its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 53.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 121,260 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 139,246 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $15,402,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in PAYX. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Paychex during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 40.6% during the 2nd quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 263 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted 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 worth $43,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Finally, E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Paychex by 193.2% in the third quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 346 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on PAYX. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Paychex from $140.00 to $121.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Paychex in a report on Monday, December 1st. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Paychex from $137.00 to $126.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Paychex in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Paychex from $153.00 to $148.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Paychex has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $125.67.

Paychex Price Performance

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $107.19 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $111.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $125.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.27. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $106.80 and a one year high of $161.24. The company has a market cap of $38.48 billion, a PE ratio of 24.31 and a beta of 0.91.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.55 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 26.45% and a return on equity of 46.38%. The company’s revenue was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.14 EPS. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.480-5.530 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 28th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 97.96%.

Paychex announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Friday, January 16th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.