TD Asset Management Inc Sells 767,246 Shares of Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

TD Asset Management Inc reduced its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 47.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 864,676 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 767,246 shares during the quarter. TD Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Paychex were worth $109,606,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 17.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,765,468 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,787,151,000 after purchasing an additional 5,549,511 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Paychex during the 2nd quarter valued at about $302,244,000. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in Paychex by 179.5% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,078,328 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $156,854,000 after buying an additional 692,533 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Paychex by 29.2% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,542,901 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $369,901,000 after buying an additional 574,337 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Paychex by 209.1% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 838,679 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $106,311,000 after acquiring an additional 567,352 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PAYX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Argus cut their price objective on shares of Paychex from $150.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Paychex to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Wolfe Research cut their price target on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $115.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Paychex from $139.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $121.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $123.94.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of PAYX opened at $91.23 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $104.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $117.52. The company has a market capitalization of $32.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.69 and a beta of 0.90. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $86.89 and a fifty-two week high of $161.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.27.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its earnings results on Friday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.56 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.55 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 46.38% and a net margin of 26.45%.The company’s revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.14 earnings per share. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.480-5.530 EPS. Research analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Friday, January 16th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 28th will be paid 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 dividend yield of 4.7%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 97.96%.

About Paychex

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.