Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Sold by Catalyst Financial Partners LLC

Catalyst Financial Partners LLC cut its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,883 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 82 shares during the period. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $404,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in Paychex during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its stake 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 last quarter. Avion Wealth boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 469.8% in the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 245 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the period. MilWealth Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the third quarter worth about $36,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paychex Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX opened at $147.25 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $143.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $138.69. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $114.72 and a 52-week high of $151.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.00, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

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

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. Paychex’s payout ratio is currently 82.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Barclays upped their target price on Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $148.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $132.23.

About Paychex

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.