Troy Asset Management Ltd Sells 61,217 Shares of Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Troy Asset Management Ltd cut its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 9.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 618,451 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 61,217 shares during the period. Paychex comprises approximately 2.4% of Troy Asset Management Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Troy Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Paychex were worth $89,960,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its position in Paychex by 13.2% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 113,005 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $16,533,000 after buying an additional 13,214 shares in the last quarter. American Trust grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 7.3% in the 2nd quarter. American Trust now owns 24,564 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,573,000 after acquiring an additional 1,669 shares in the last quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC increased its position in shares of Paychex by 6.7% in the second quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 49,251 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,164,000 after acquiring an additional 3,095 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in Paychex by 32.8% during the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 28,251 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,095,000 after acquiring an additional 6,971 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MASTERINVEST Kapitalanlage GmbH acquired a new position in Paychex during the second quarter valued at approximately $205,000. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $115.45 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.27. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $108.00 and a fifty-two week high of $161.24. The company has a market cap of $41.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.94 and a beta of 0.91. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $117.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $133.14.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 30th. The business services provider reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.54 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 27.85% and a return on equity of 45.17%. The company’s revenue was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.16 earnings per share. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.428-5.528 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Investors of record on Friday, November 7th were paid a $1.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 7th. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 97.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on PAYX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Paychex from $153.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Paychex from $132.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Stephens raised shares of Paychex to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Paychex from $153.00 to $148.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $132.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $131.87.

About Paychex

Paychex, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides integrated human capital management solutions (HCM) for payroll, benefits, human resources (HR), and insurance services for small to medium-sized businesses in the United States, Europe, and India. It offers payroll processing services; payroll tax administration services; employee payment services; and regulatory compliance services, such as new-hire reporting and garnishment processing.