Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Sold by Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC

Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC lowered its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 18,336 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 459 shares during the quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $2,571,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Paychex by 38,655.2% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 799,907 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $107,340,000 after purchasing an additional 797,843 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Paychex by 46.2% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,748,485 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $234,627,000 after buying an additional 552,540 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 3.8% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,524,870 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,278,142,000 after buying an additional 345,682 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in Paychex by 2,404.5% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 330,844 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $46,391,000 after acquiring an additional 317,634 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Unigestion Holding SA grew its stake in Paychex by 2,139.2% during the 3rd quarter. Unigestion Holding SA now owns 295,692 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $39,667,000 after acquiring an additional 282,487 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $146.29 on Friday. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $114.72 and a fifty-two week high of $150.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.39. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $142.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $134.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.80, a PEG ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 1.00.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released 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 business had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.28% and a net margin of 32.02%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.08 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.68%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on PAYX shares. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays boosted their price objective on Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. UBS Group lifted their price target on Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $132.23.

Paychex Company 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.