Troy Asset Management Ltd Has $103.10 Million Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Troy Asset Management Ltd lessened its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 19.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 735,298 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 180,332 shares during the period. Paychex accounts for 3.5% of Troy Asset Management Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Troy Asset Management Ltd owned approximately 0.20% of Paychex worth $103,103,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PAYX. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in Paychex in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Avion Wealth lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 469.8% in the 4th quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 245 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the period. MilWealth Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex during the third quarter valued at about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX opened at $151.03 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $148.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $143.23. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $114.72 and a 52-week high of $158.37. The company has a market cap of $54.38 billion, a PE ratio of 31.80, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.98.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.01. Paychex had a net margin of 32.02% and a return on equity of 45.28%. The business had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.38 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.60%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 81.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Paychex from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup upped their price target on Paychex from $145.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $148.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, December 20th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $141.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $137.58.

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.