Access Financial Services Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Access Financial Services Inc. lessened its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,831 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 149 shares during the quarter. Paychex makes up about 0.8% of Access Financial Services Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Access Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $1,799,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CVA Family Office LLC grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 5.6% during the third quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,388 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $186,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 1.8% during the third quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC now owns 4,283 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $575,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 2.2% during the third quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,628 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $487,000 after buying an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daymark Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 0.8% during the second quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,847 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,167,000 after buying an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PAYX has been the topic of several recent research reports. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $148.00 price target 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 eleven have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $132.23.

Paychex Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of PAYX opened at $146.29 on Monday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $142.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $135.31. 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 1 year low of $114.72 and a 1 year high of $150.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.67 billion, a PE ratio of 30.80, a P/E/G ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 1.00.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company 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. 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 2.68%. 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.