Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC Sells 12,442 Shares of Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC cut its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 22.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 43,284 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 12,442 shares during the period. Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $4,856,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. 44 Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Paychex by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,290 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $479,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in Paychex by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,645 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $381,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Paychex by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC now owns 27,686 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,509,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust raised its position in Paychex by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 5,834 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $654,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moment Partners LLC raised its position in Paychex by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Moment Partners LLC now owns 6,911 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $876,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on PAYX shares. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Paychex from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Paychex to $52.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Paychex from $125.00 to $100.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Argus raised Paychex to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Paychex from $148.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Paychex has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $106.63.

Paychex Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of Paychex stock opened at $100.28 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $85.45 and a 12-month high of $157.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.09 and a beta of 0.84. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $93.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $100.21.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.78 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 48.52% and a net margin of 25.84%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 19.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.49 EPS. Analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.5 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th were paid a $1.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 13th. This is a positive change from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.7%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 104.85%.

Paychex Profile

Paychex, Inc, founded in 1971 by B. Thomas “Tom” Golisano and headquartered in Rochester, New York, is a provider of payroll, human resources, and benefits outsourcing solutions for small- and medium-sized businesses. The company’s core services include payroll processing and tax filing, employee benefits administration, retirement services, and workers’ compensation administration, designed to simplify back-office operations and help clients comply with regulatory and tax requirements.

Paychex offers an integrated technology platform, marketed under the Paychex Flex brand, which delivers cloud-based payroll, HR, time and attendance, and reporting tools.