Grandfield & Dodd LLC Sells 7,836 Shares of Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Grandfield & Dodd LLC decreased its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 367,832 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 7,836 shares during the quarter. Paychex comprises approximately 2.3% of Grandfield & Dodd LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Grandfield & Dodd LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $41,263,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. 44 Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings 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 worth $479,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings 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 worth $381,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 0.3% in 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 acquiring an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 5,834 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $654,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moment Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Moment Partners LLC now owns 6,911 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $876,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $96.98 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $92.37 and a 200-day moving average of $100.82. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $85.45 and a twelve month high of $161.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.36 and a beta of 0.84.

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

Paychex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 13th were given a $1.19 dividend. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 13th. This is an increase from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. Paychex’s payout ratio is 104.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Paychex from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Paychex from $123.00 to $107.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Stephens lowered their price objective on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Paychex to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $100.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $106.38.

Paychex Company 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.