DNB Asset Management AS Sells 5,911 Shares of Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

DNB Asset Management AS reduced its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 5.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 101,651 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 5,911 shares during the period. DNB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Paychex were worth $12,885,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the third quarter worth $25,000. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its stake 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 buying 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 purchased a new stake in Paychex in the third quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC boosted its holdings in Paychex by 40.6% in the second quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 263 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Paychex in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Stephens lowered their price objective on shares of Paychex from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Paychex from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Paychex in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Paychex from $137.00 to $126.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Paychex currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $123.94.

Paychex Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $93.65 on Friday. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $86.89 and a twelve month high of $161.24. The stock has a market cap of $33.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.24 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $104.01 and a 200 day moving average of $116.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its earnings results on Friday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.26 earnings per share 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 period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.14 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.480-5.530 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Friday, January 16th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in 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 an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

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

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.