Csenge Advisory Group Cuts Stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Csenge Advisory Group lessened its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,243 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 106 shares during the quarter. Csenge Advisory Group’s holdings in Paychex were worth $1,156,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of PAYX. Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Paychex by 19.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 8,638 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,159,000 after acquiring an additional 1,384 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Paychex by 169.9% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,624 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,023,000 after purchasing an additional 4,799 shares during the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Paychex by 18.6% during the third quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,218 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,371,000 after purchasing an additional 1,602 shares in the last quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Paychex by 16.1% during the third quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,077 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $413,000 after purchasing an additional 426 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in Paychex by 42.8% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 32,317 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,337,000 after purchasing an additional 9,681 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of PAYX opened at $147.25 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $143.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $138.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.00, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.00. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $114.72 and a 12-month high of $151.72.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 32.02% and a return on equity of 45.28%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $148.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, December 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company 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 assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $132.23.

Paychex Company Profile

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.