Sienna Gestion Grows Holdings in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Sienna Gestion boosted its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 10.0% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 56,127 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,106 shares during the period. Sienna Gestion’s holdings in Paychex were worth $7,454,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its position in Paychex by 83.8% in the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 215 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Paychex in the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. Nova Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Paychex in the 1st quarter valued at $38,000. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC raised its position in Paychex by 40.6% in the 2nd quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 263 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its position in Paychex by 94.0% in the 2nd quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 293 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX opened at $116.50 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $41.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.18, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $113.15 and a 52 week high of $161.24. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $128.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $140.64.

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

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 7th will be given a dividend of $1.08 per share. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 7th. Paychex’s payout ratio is 97.08%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on PAYX. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Paychex to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $132.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Argus dropped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $170.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $132.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $143.00 to $140.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $139.87.

Paychex 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.