Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Sold by Unigestion Holding SA

Unigestion Holding SA trimmed its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 15.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 250,902 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 44,790 shares during the quarter. Paychex makes up about 2.0% of Unigestion Holding SA’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Unigestion Holding SA’s holdings in Paychex were worth $35,181,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Paychex by 220.7% in the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 186 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in Paychex during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Avion Wealth raised 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 acquiring an additional 202 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Paychex Trading Down 6.7 %

Shares of PAYX opened at $143.32 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $148.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $143.91. The stock has a market cap of $51.62 billion, a PE ratio of 30.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.98. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $115.40 and a 52-week high of $158.37.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.01. Paychex had a net margin of 32.02% and a return on equity of 45.28%. The company had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.38 EPS. Paychex’s revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.74%. Paychex’s payout ratio is 81.67%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on PAYX. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Paychex from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Cfra Research upgraded Paychex to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Barclays upped their target price on Paychex from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $141.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $148.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $141.00.

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.