Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Sold by Motco

Motco trimmed its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 45,543 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 646 shares during the period. Motco’s holdings in Paychex were worth $6,386,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Avion Wealth lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 469.8% during the 4th quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 245 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. MilWealth Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex in the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Trading Down 0.3 %

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $148.76 on Friday. 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 capitalization of $53.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.32, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.00. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $144.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $140.30. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $114.72 and a 52 week high of $151.86.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.08 EPS. Paychex’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.64%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on PAYX. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $148.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a report on Friday, December 20th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.