Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 0.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 140,751 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 175 shares during the period. Paychex comprises about 2.1% of Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest position. Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $19,736,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lifted its stake in Paychex by 2.3% during the third quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 187,663 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,182,000 after purchasing an additional 4,157 shares during the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 91.1% during the 4th quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 10,808 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,515,000 after buying an additional 5,153 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 70,347 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $9,440,000 after buying an additional 4,082 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC grew its position in shares of Paychex by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 329,080 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $44,159,000 after buying an additional 20,064 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in Paychex by 151.0% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 9,761 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,310,000 after acquiring an additional 5,872 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX opened at $148.51 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.27, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.00. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $114.72 and a 1 year high of $151.72. The company’s fifty day moving average is $144.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $139.81.

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

Paychex Dividend Announcement

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. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PAYX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Barclays boosted their target price on Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex currently has a consensus 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.