Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Sold by Global Retirement Partners LLC

Global Retirement Partners LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 5.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 12,901 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 816 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $1,809,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PAYX. Atlas Legacy Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $671,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new stake in Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at $720,000. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund grew its holdings in Paychex by 21.3% in the fourth quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 11,510 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,614,000 after purchasing an additional 2,020 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Paychex by 47.3% in the fourth quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 6,588 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $924,000 after buying an additional 2,115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 4,234.8% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,846 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,100,000 after buying an additional 7,665 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on PAYX shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $148.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a report on Friday, December 20th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $132.23.

Paychex Trading Up 0.1 %

NASDAQ PAYX opened at $150.26 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $54.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.63, a P/E/G ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 1.00. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $114.72 and a 12 month high of $151.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The company has a 50-day moving average of $143.96 and a 200-day moving average of $139.43.

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

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. Paychex’s payout ratio is currently 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.