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

Paradiem LLC trimmed its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 84,751 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 161 shares during the quarter. Paychex accounts for 3.2% of Paradiem LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Paradiem LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $11,884,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PAYX. Raymond James & Associates grew its position in Paychex by 27.4% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 988,417 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $132,636,000 after purchasing an additional 212,700 shares in the last quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD lifted its position in Paychex by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 1,567,667 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $210,282,000 after acquiring an additional 68,627 shares during the last quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC acquired a new position in Paychex during the 2nd quarter worth $2,557,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 169.9% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,624 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,023,000 after purchasing an additional 4,799 shares during the period. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. increased its stake in Paychex by 2.3% in the third quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 187,663 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $25,182,000 after acquiring an additional 4,157 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $144.77 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.13 billion, a PE ratio of 30.48, a P/E/G ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 1.00. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $114.72 and a twelve month high of $150.71. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $142.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $135.83.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.08 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.71%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PAYX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $148.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $132.23.

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.