Parthenon LLC Has $36.22 Million Stock Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Parthenon LLC decreased its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 258,275 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 920 shares during the quarter. Paychex accounts for 4.4% of Parthenon LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest position. Parthenon LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $36,215,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in PAYX. Monument Capital Management boosted its stake in Paychex by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Monument Capital Management now owns 1,714 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $240,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 2,881 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $423,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its stake in Paychex by 42.0% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. Kanawha Capital Management LLC raised its position in Paychex by 1.8% in the third quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC now owns 4,283 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $575,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Weaver Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Paychex by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC now owns 2,121 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $297,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX opened at $150.04 on Thursday. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $114.72 and a 1-year high of $151.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The company has a 50-day moving average of $143.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $139.36. The company has a market cap of $54.02 billion, a PE ratio of 31.59, a P/E/G ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 1.00.

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

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is 82.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PAYX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays upped their price objective on Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $148.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.