Paychex, Inc. $PAYX Shares Sold by Marshall Financial Group LLC

Marshall Financial Group LLC cut its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 74.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,117 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 6,207 shares during the quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $238,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Quantum Portfolio Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Quantum Portfolio Management LLC now owns 2,464 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $358,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. grew its stake in Paychex by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 2,597 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $378,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Somerset Trust Co grew its stake in Paychex by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Somerset Trust Co now owns 32,964 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,179,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Suncoast Equity Management increased its position in Paychex by 0.6% in the third quarter. Suncoast Equity Management now owns 14,055 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,782,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. Finally, 44 Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Paychex by 2.7% in the second quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,290 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $479,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of PAYX opened at $93.50 on Tuesday. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $86.89 and a one year high of $161.24. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $98.10 and its 200-day moving average is $111.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.20 and a beta of 0.91.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.55 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 26.45% and a return on equity of 46.38%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.14 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Friday, January 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the business services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 28th were given a dividend of $1.08 per share. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 28th. Paychex’s payout ratio is 97.96%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PAYX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Paychex in a report on Monday, December 29th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $121.00 to $103.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 13th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Paychex from $139.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Paychex from $128.00 to $116.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $110.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, December 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $121.38.

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.