Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Sells 11,458 Shares of Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lowered its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 38.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 18,278 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 11,458 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $1,662,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 59.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 30,265,174 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,395,583,000 after purchasing an additional 11,243,295 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,348,625 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,750,669,000 after buying an additional 4,583,157 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in Paychex by 4,141.2% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,409,229 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $270,267,000 after buying an additional 2,352,423 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at about $257,699,000. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Paychex in the third quarter valued at about $117,809,000. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Performance

PAYX opened at $113.55 on Monday. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $85.45 and a fifty-two week high of $148.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.22 and a beta of 0.84. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $102.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $98.32.

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

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors 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 dividend yield of 4.2%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 97.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Joseph M. Tucci sold 3,907 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.25, for a total transaction of $383,862.75. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 67,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,618,513. This trade represents a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PAYX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Paychex in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $107.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Citigroup raised shares of Paychex from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $99.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Paychex from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company 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.