Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Sold by Core Alternative Capital

Core Alternative Capital cut its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 49,702 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,335 shares during the period. Paychex accounts for about 1.5% of Core Alternative Capital’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Core Alternative Capital’s holdings in Paychex were worth $6,969,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its stake in Paychex by 42.0% during the third 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 in the last quarter. MilWealth Group LLC acquired a new position in Paychex during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in Paychex during the third quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its stake in Paychex by 805.9% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 308 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $148.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, December 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $132.23.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $147.01 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $143.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $138.26. The firm has a market cap of $52.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.95, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.00. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $114.72 and a 1 year high of $151.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.39.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.28% and a net margin of 32.02%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.08 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.67%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.53%.

About Paychex

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.