Allianz Asset Management GmbH Cuts Stock Position in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Allianz Asset Management GmbH decreased its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 78,469 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 6,137 shares during the quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in Paychex were worth $9,947,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Summit Global Investments lifted its position 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 last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased 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 in the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors increased its position in shares of Paychex by 8.6% during the second quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 53,974 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,851,000 after purchasing an additional 4,254 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 48.9% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,260,376 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $155,341,000 after purchasing an additional 414,196 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 67.3% in the 3rd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 101,622 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $12,882,000 after purchasing an additional 40,872 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Wolfe Research cut their price target on Paychex from $130.00 to $115.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Paychex from $137.00 to $126.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Paychex in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Paychex from $139.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, December 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $123.94.

Paychex Stock Up 0.4%

PAYX opened at $98.53 on Monday. 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $94.90 and a 12 month high of $161.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.34 and a beta of 0.90. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $110.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $121.91.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.14 earnings per share. Paychex’s revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.480-5.530 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend is Wednesday, January 28th. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.4%. Paychex’s payout ratio is currently 97.96%.

Paychex announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Friday, January 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the business services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are 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.