Paychex, Inc. $PAYX Shares Sold by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. trimmed its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 76.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 200,880 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 637,799 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $22,535,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PAYX. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Paychex in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Stance Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. MMA Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new position in Paychex during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Price Performance

Paychex stock opened at $93.59 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $97.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $111.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.61 and a beta of 0.91. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $86.89 and a 12-month high of $161.24.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.78 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 25.84% and a return on equity of 48.52%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 19.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.49 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 28th were issued a dividend of $1.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 28th. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.6%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 97.96%.

Paychex announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Friday, January 16th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on PAYX. Argus decreased 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. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Paychex from $137.00 to $126.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Guggenheim assumed coverage on shares of Paychex in a report on Thursday, March 19th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Paychex from $133.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Paychex to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $114.56.

Key Stories Impacting Paychex

Here are the key news stories impacting Paychex this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q3 beat: PAYX reported EPS of $1.71 (vs. $1.67 est.) and revenue of $1.81B (+20% YoY), demonstrating demand and top-line momentum that supports recurring-service growth. Zacks: Paychex’s Q3 Earnings and Revenues Surpass Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Growth catalysts: Management highlighted AI initiatives and the Paycor acquisition as drivers of advisory and PEO growth that could expand addressable market and services revenue over time. MSN: PAYX Q1 deep dive: AI initiatives and Paycor integration
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts largely kept neutral/hold ratings after the print — several firms reiterated balanced views citing solid fundamentals but ongoing macro and execution risks. That keeps near-term analyst guidance mixed rather than uniformly bullish. TipRanks: Solid fundamentals but macro and AI headwinds
• Negative Sentiment: Price-target cuts and downgrades: Multiple major firms trimmed targets and/or ratings this morning — JPMorgan to $100 (underweight), Citigroup to $99 (neutral), Wells Fargo to $95 (underweight), TD Cowen to $95 (hold). Those moves increase downside/near-term selling pressure despite the beat. Benzinga: Analyst price-target updates
• Negative Sentiment: Margin/cost concerns: Some coverage noted rising costs and margin pressure despite robust revenue growth — investors are attentive to whether operating leverage will recover. That commentary contributed to volatile trading after the report. Blockonomi: Cost pressures overshadow performance

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.