Sabal Trust CO Trims Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Sabal Trust CO decreased its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 229,786 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 6,019 shares during the quarter. Paychex comprises approximately 1.9% of Sabal Trust CO’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Sabal Trust CO’s holdings in Paychex were worth $32,221,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 42.8% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 32,317 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,337,000 after purchasing an additional 9,681 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Paychex by 36.7% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 13,210 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,773,000 after buying an additional 3,544 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Paychex by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 86,565 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $11,616,000 after acquiring an additional 4,521 shares in the last quarter. Inscription Capital LLC boosted its position in Paychex by 15.1% during the 3rd quarter. Inscription Capital LLC now owns 2,533 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $340,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Autumn Glory Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 166.8% during the 3rd quarter. Autumn Glory Partners LLC now owns 5,429 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $729,000 after acquiring an additional 3,394 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX opened at $151.00 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $144.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $140.18. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $114.72 and a 52-week high of $151.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.39. The company has a market cap of $54.37 billion, a PE ratio of 31.79, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.00.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its earnings results 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 net margin of 32.02% and a return on equity of 45.28%. The business 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 business earned $1.08 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.60%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PAYX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays raised their target price on Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $148.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. 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 MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $132.23.

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.