Private Advisor Group LLC Decreases Stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Private Advisor Group LLC reduced its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 4.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 42,976 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,858 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $6,026,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Atlas Legacy Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex in the fourth quarter worth about $671,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new position in shares of Paychex in the fourth quarter worth about $720,000. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 21.3% in the fourth quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 11,510 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,614,000 after buying an additional 2,020 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC increased its position in Paychex by 47.3% during the fourth quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 6,588 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $924,000 after purchasing an additional 2,115 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Paychex by 4,234.8% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,846 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,100,000 after purchasing an additional 7,665 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of PAYX opened at $148.51 on Friday. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $114.72 and a 1-year high of $151.72. The stock has a market cap of $53.47 billion, a PE ratio of 31.27, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $144.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $139.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.39.

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

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PAYX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $148.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Paychex currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $132.23.

Paychex 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.