Richardson Financial Services Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Richardson Financial Services Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 49.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 380 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 365 shares during the period. Richardson Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $53,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its holdings in Paychex by 42.0% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 152.6% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 293 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Paychex in the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its position in Paychex by 805.9% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 308 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Paychex Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $147.67 on Monday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $142.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $137.28. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $114.72 and a 52 week high of $150.71. The stock has a market cap of $53.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.09, a PEG ratio of 4.01 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.28% and a net margin of 32.02%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.65%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on PAYX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Barclays raised their price target on Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $148.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research note 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, Paychex presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.