Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 38.5% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 18,278 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 11,458 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $1,662,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 957.1% during the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 296 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. purchased a new stake in Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Leonteq Securities AG boosted its position in Paychex by 2,669.2% during the first quarter. Leonteq Securities AG now owns 360 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares during the period. Finally, Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Paychex during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Paychex Stock Performance

Paychex stock opened at $113.55 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $85.45 and a fifty-two week high of $148.11. The stock has a market cap of $40.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.22 and a beta of 0.84. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $102.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $98.32.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 24th. The business services provider reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.01. Paychex had a return on equity of 50.90% and a net margin of 27.03%.The company had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.19 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.900-6.010 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 28th will be given a dividend of $1.19 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 28th. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.2%. Paychex’s payout ratio is presently 97.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Paychex news, Director Joseph M. Tucci sold 3,907 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.25, for a total value of $383,862.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 67,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,618,513. The trade was a 5.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PAYX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup raised shares of Paychex from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $99.00 to $140.00 in a report on Monday, June 15th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Paychex from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. UBS Group raised their price target on Paychex from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. TD Cowen raised their price target on Paychex from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Paychex from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $107.53.

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.