Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Purchases 254,727 Shares of Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management increased its Paychex stake by 126.8% in Q1, buying 254,727 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 455,607 shares valued at about $41.97 million.
• Paychex recently reported better-than-expected fiscal Q4 results, with EPS of $1.32 and revenue of $1.61 billion, both slightly above analyst estimates and revenue up 12.5% year over year.
• Despite the solid quarter, investors are focused on slower fiscal 2027 guidance and higher expenses, which have weighed on the stock even as some analysts see the pullback as a buying opportunity.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 126.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 455,607 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 254,727 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.13% of Paychex worth $41,971,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Godsey & Gibb Inc. raised its position in Paychex by 14.4% in the 1st quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 187,744 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $17,295,000 after purchasing an additional 23,660 shares during the period. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 13.6% in the 1st quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 430,548 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $39,662,000 after acquiring an additional 51,477 shares during the last quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 105.0% in the 1st quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management now owns 4,067 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $375,000 after acquiring an additional 2,083 shares during the last quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Paychex during the 1st quarter valued at about $202,000. Finally, Riverbridge Partners LLC grew its position in Paychex by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Riverbridge Partners LLC now owns 15,276 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,407,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Key Paychex News

Here are the key news stories impacting Paychex this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Paychex beat fiscal Q4 estimates, reporting EPS of $1.32 versus $1.31 expected and revenue of $1.61 billion versus $1.60 billion expected, with revenue up 12.5% year over year. Paychex earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: Management highlighted growth drivers including Paycor synergies, stronger Management Solutions performance, and AI-related monetization efforts through WISE, which supports the longer-term growth story. Zacks earnings call takeaways
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts framed the stock as more attractive after the pullback, noting Paychex has strong fundamentals and that fiscal 2027 looks “cleaner” after a noisy 2026. Benzinga analyst note
• Neutral Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its price target to $105 from $100 but kept an Underweight rating, signaling limited upside despite acknowledging the shares can rise from current levels. JPMorgan price target update
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data showed essentially no shares sold short, so short selling does not appear to be a meaningful factor in the stock’s move.
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are reacting to fiscal 2027 guidance that points to slower growth than fiscal 2026, with revenue expected to grow 5% to 6% and EPS 7% to 9%, a deceleration after the recent double-digit expansion. Proactive Investors earnings outlook article
• Negative Sentiment: Some commentary also pointed to higher-than-expected expenses and a cautious outlook as reasons the stock slipped after earnings, even though the underlying results were strong. Seeking Alpha news

Paychex Trading Up 0.4%

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $96.72 on Friday. 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 $34.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.78 and a beta of 0.84. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $95.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $99.14. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $85.45 and a one year high of $148.76.

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

Paychex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th were issued a dividend of $1.19 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 13th. This is an increase from Paychex's previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.9%. Paychex's dividend payout ratio is currently 104.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PAYX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group decreased their price target on Paychex from $100.00 to $98.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating on shares of Paychex in a report on Thursday, May 28th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Paychex from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Paychex from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $99.00 to $140.00 in a report on Monday, June 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Paychex from $148.00 to $125.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $105.67.

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.

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