Erste Asset Management GmbH Sells 11,471 Shares of Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Erste Asset Management GmbH trimmed its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 17.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 56,107 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 11,471 shares during the quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in Paychex were worth $7,211,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. ABC Arbitrage SA grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 61.4% in the 3rd quarter. ABC Arbitrage SA now owns 28,208 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,576,000 after buying an additional 10,726 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in Paychex in the third quarter worth approximately $1,877,000. Summit Global Investments grew its stake in Paychex by 1,938.2% in the third quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 48,143 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,103,000 after acquiring an additional 45,781 shares during the period. Alps Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 20.6% during the third quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 240,564 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $30,494,000 after acquiring an additional 41,114 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position 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 during the period. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on PAYX. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Paychex to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $121.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Wolfe Research lowered their target price on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $115.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Paychex from $150.00 to $125.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on Paychex from $139.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $123.94.

Paychex Stock Down 0.9%

PAYX opened at $93.65 on Friday. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $86.89 and a fifty-two week high of $161.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.24 and a beta of 0.90. The company’s 50-day moving average is $104.01 and its 200 day moving average is $117.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.27.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.03. Paychex had a net margin of 26.45% and a return on equity of 46.38%. The firm had revenue of $1.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.55 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $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. Research analysts expect 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 was paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 28th were given a dividend of $1.08 per share. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 28th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 97.96%.

Paychex announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Friday, January 16th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.