Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Position Lessened by Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI

Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI cut its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 193,250 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,561 shares during the quarter. Paychex comprises about 2.2% of Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI’s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest position. Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI’s holdings in Paychex were worth $27,098,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Avion Wealth increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 469.8% in 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 period. MilWealth Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new position in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PAYX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays boosted their target price on Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock 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 research note on Friday, December 20th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Paychex presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $133.23.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX opened at $153.48 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $55.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.31, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.98. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $146.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $141.54. 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 one year low of $114.72 and a one year high of $154.98.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion during 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.55%. 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.