Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. reduced its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 883,185 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 9,342 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned about 0.25% of Paychex worth $111,953,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Paychex by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,215,957 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,686,133,000 after acquiring an additional 408,114 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in Paychex by 2.6% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,066,067 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,046,050,000 after acquiring an additional 355,294 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Paychex by 2.3% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,033,312 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,604,906,000 after purchasing an additional 251,139 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Paychex by 2.8% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,183,871 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,481,053,000 after purchasing an additional 274,947 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 6.0% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,384,846 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $637,820,000 after purchasing an additional 249,550 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on PAYX. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Paychex from $139.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Paychex in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Paychex from $128.00 to $116.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Argus dropped their price target on Paychex from $150.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 2nd. Finally, Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Paychex in a research note on Monday, December 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Paychex presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $125.67.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of Paychex stock opened at $109.66 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $112.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $126.97. The company has a market cap of $39.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.87 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. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $107.80 and a one year high of $161.24.

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

Paychex Profile

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.