Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Sold by Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC

Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 23,021 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 218 shares during the period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $2,742,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at about $214,000. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in Paychex by 80.2% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 343,269 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $40,887,000 after buying an additional 152,818 shares in the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,229,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Paychex by 366.5% during the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 20,863 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,485,000 after buying an additional 16,391 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in Paychex by 218.8% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 680,257 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $80,794,000 after buying an additional 466,890 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on PAYX shares. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “in-line” rating and set a $118.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Paychex from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.00.

Paychex Price Performance

PAYX traded up $0.53 during trading on Monday, hitting $120.63. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 837,892 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,794,284. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $121.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $120.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $104.09 and a 12 month high of $129.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.93.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 2nd. The business services provider reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.46 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 46.14% and a net margin of 31.86%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.29 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.25%. This is an increase from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. Paychex’s payout ratio is presently 77.56%.

Paychex announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Friday, January 19th that allows the company to repurchase $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to reacquire up to 0.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Paychex Profile

Paychex, Inc provides integrated human capital management solutions for human resources (HR), payroll, benefits, 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.