RW Investment Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

RW Investment Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 46.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,924 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,553 shares during the quarter. RW Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $410,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. 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 valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. 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 valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the period. MilWealth Group LLC bought a new position in Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in Paychex during the third quarter valued at $36,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Paychex Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $150.04 on Thursday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $54.02 billion, a PE ratio of 31.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 1.00. The business’s fifty day moving average is $143.78 and its 200 day moving average is $139.36.

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

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors 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 2.61%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on PAYX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $148.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock 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.