Cerro Pacific Wealth Advisors LLC Sells 252 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Cerro Pacific Wealth Advisors LLC decreased its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 14,319 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 252 shares during the quarter. Cerro Pacific Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $1,921,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PAYX. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 42.0% in the 3rd 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 during the period. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in Paychex in the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Quarry LP raised its position in Paychex by 152.6% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 293 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the period. City Holding Co. purchased a new position in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC grew its position in shares of 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 hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays raised their target price on Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $148.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a report on Friday, December 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $132.23.

Paychex Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $144.75 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $142.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $135.89. 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 $52.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.47, a PEG ratio of 3.95 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 business earned $1.08 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.