Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Sold by Wendell David Associates Inc.

Wendell David Associates Inc. lessened its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 8.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 31,378 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,970 shares during the quarter. Wendell David Associates Inc.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $4,400,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. State Street Corp raised its stake in Paychex by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,230,236 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,775,365,000 after purchasing an additional 60,455 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Paychex by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,524,870 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,278,142,000 after buying an additional 345,682 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Paychex by 2.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,414,072 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,262,700,000 after acquiring an additional 190,937 shares during the period. Barclays PLC increased its stake in Paychex by 46.2% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,748,485 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $234,627,000 after acquiring an additional 552,540 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Guinness Asset Management LTD lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 1,649,758 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $231,295,000 after purchasing an additional 82,091 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on PAYX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. TD Cowen upped their price target on Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two 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, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $132.23.

Paychex Trading Down 0.6 %

NASDAQ PAYX opened at $144.77 on Thursday. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $114.72 and a 52 week high of $150.71. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $142.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $135.83. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $52.13 billion, a PE ratio of 30.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.98 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 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 the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. Paychex’s payout ratio is 82.53%.

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.