Paychex, Inc. $PAYX Shares Sold by BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S

Key Points

• BI Asset Management sharply reduced its Paychex stake by 92.6% in the first quarter, selling more than 217,000 shares and ending with 17,336 shares valued at about $1.6 million.
• Paychex reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.32 versus $1.31 expected and revenue of $1.61 billion versus $1.60 billion expected, while revenue grew 12.5% year over year.
• The company also raised its dividend to $1.19 per share quarterly, but investors are weighing a more cautious outlook as analysts largely maintain a Hold rating and point to slower FY 2027 growth guidance.

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S cut its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 92.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,336 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 217,735 shares during the quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S's holdings in Paychex were worth $1,597,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in PAYX. Uhlmann Price Securities LLC grew its holdings in Paychex by 6.7% during the first quarter. Uhlmann Price Securities LLC now owns 12,438 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,146,000 after acquiring an additional 784 shares during the period. Genesis Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 1st quarter worth approximately $310,000. Winthrop Partners WNY LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $535,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 811,295 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $91,012,000 after purchasing an additional 24,053 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Union Savings Bank acquired a new stake in Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at $126,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Paychex Trading Down 1.7%

PAYX stock opened at $96.30 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $34.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.21 and a beta of 0.84. The business's 50-day moving average is $95.27 and its 200 day moving average is $99.25. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $85.45 and a 12-month high of $148.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 24th. The business services provider reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.01. Paychex had a return on equity of 48.52% and a net margin of 25.84%.The firm had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.19 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.900-6.010 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

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

Key Paychex News

Here are the key news stories impacting Paychex this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Paychex posted stronger-than-expected Q4 results, with adjusted EPS of $1.32 versus $1.31 expected and revenue of $1.61 billion versus $1.60 billion expected, while revenue rose 12.5% year over year. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The company highlighted continued operating momentum, including Management Solutions growth helped by Paycor, margin expansion, and the launch of its AI tool WISE Workforce Intelligence Engine. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts mostly reiterated a Hold/neutral view, with William Blair’s Andrew Nicholas saying Paychex’s solid fundamentals are being offset by valuation concerns. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: The main pressure point is guidance: Paychex forecast FY 2027 revenue growth of only about 5%–6% and EPS growth of 7%–9%, a noticeable slowdown from fiscal 2026’s double-digit growth. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Some coverage also pointed to higher-than-expected expenses and softer near-term growth expectations, which are weighing on sentiment despite the earnings beat. Article Title

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PAYX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Stephens cut their price objective on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $105.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 26th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Paychex to $52.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Paychex from $125.00 to $100.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Paychex from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Paychex from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. One investment 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 issued 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 $105.07.

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.

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