Ethic Inc. Has $8.94 Million Position in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Ethic Inc. raised its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 9.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 62,104 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,208 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $8,939,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Summit Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Paychex by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Summit Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,027 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $467,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. LGT Group Foundation raised its stake in Paychex by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. LGT Group Foundation now owns 2,528 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $390,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Golden State Equity Partners raised its stake in Paychex by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 7,623 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,176,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. King Wealth Management Group raised its stake in Paychex by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. King Wealth Management Group now owns 1,669 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $257,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Sunflower Bank N.A. increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 3.4% in the second quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 2,305 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $335,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paychex Stock Down 0.7%

PAYX stock opened at $126.61 on Thursday. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $119.02 and a 52-week high of $161.24. The company has a 50-day moving average of $131.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $142.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.92.

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

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.08 per share. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 7th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is 97.08%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on PAYX. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Paychex from $153.00 to $148.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Paychex from $158.00 to $148.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Paychex from $153.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Paychex from $143.00 to $140.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Argus lowered their target price on shares of Paychex from $170.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $140.47.

Paychex Company Profile

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.