Empowered Funds LLC Reduces Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Empowered Funds LLC trimmed its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 75.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,952 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 64,518 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $2,938,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 42.0% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. MilWealth Group LLC purchased a new position in Paychex during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in Paychex during the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, City Holding Co. purchased a new position in Paychex during the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on PAYX. Barclays lifted 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. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $148.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $132.23.

Paychex Stock Up 1.1 %

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $148.63 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $53.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.29, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.39. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $114.72 and a fifty-two week high of $151.72. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $143.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $138.62.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.08 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid 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 2.64%. 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.