Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Sells 36,379 Shares of Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund trimmed its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 41.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 50,718 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 36,379 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Paychex were worth $6,429,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Paychex in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. MMA Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Paychex during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Westfuller Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Paychex in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC grew 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 period. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paychex Price Performance

PAYX opened at $94.38 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $33.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.40 and a beta of 0.90. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $91.70 and a 12 month high of $161.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $108.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $120.48.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its earnings results on Friday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $1.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.55 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.14 earnings per share. The company’s revenue 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 expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Friday, January 16th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding 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 generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $1.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 28th. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.6%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 97.96%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on PAYX. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Paychex in a report on Monday, December 29th. Argus cut their price target on Paychex from $150.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $110.00 price target on Paychex in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Paychex to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Wolfe Research cut their target price on Paychex from $130.00 to $115.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $123.94.

Paychex Company 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.