Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Sold by Ceera Investments LLC

Ceera Investments LLC reduced its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 27,435 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 200 shares during the quarter. Paychex accounts for 1.3% of Ceera Investments LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Ceera Investments LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $3,847,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PAYX. Monument Capital Management grew its holdings in Paychex by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Monument Capital Management now owns 1,714 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $240,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Mutual Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Paychex by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 2,881 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $423,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Emerald Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Paychex by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC now owns 3,017 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $423,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Weaver Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Paychex by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC now owns 2,121 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $297,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Adero Partners LLC grew its holdings in Paychex by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Adero Partners LLC now owns 2,391 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $335,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PAYX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $148.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $133.23.

Paychex Trading Up 2.4 %

NASDAQ PAYX opened at $153.48 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $146.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $141.54. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $114.72 and a 52 week high of $154.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The stock has a market cap of $55.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.31, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.98.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.02. Paychex had a net margin of 32.02% and a return on equity of 45.28%. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.08 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.55%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.53%.

Paychex Profile

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.