Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Stake Lessened by Bray Capital Advisors

Bray Capital Advisors decreased its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 22,183 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 230 shares during the quarter. Bray Capital Advisors’ holdings in Paychex were worth $3,111,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Avion Wealth grew its holdings in Paychex by 469.8% during the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 245 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the period. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its holdings in Paychex by 42.0% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. MilWealth Group LLC bought a new stake in Paychex in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Asset Planning Inc acquired a new stake in Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paychex Trading Up 0.1 %

Paychex stock opened at $150.26 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $143.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $139.43. 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 52 week low of $114.72 and a 52 week high of $151.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.63, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.00.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.28% and a net margin of 32.02%. Paychex’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued 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 2.61%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is 82.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on PAYX shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.