Haverford Trust Co Sells 794 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Haverford Trust Co trimmed its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 18.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 3,597 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 794 shares during the period. Haverford Trust Co’s holdings in Paychex were worth $504,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PAYX. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. increased its position in Paychex by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 187,663 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $25,182,000 after buying an additional 4,157 shares in the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC grew its stake in Paychex by 91.1% in the fourth quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 10,808 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,515,000 after acquiring an additional 5,153 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 6.5% during the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 329,080 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $44,159,000 after acquiring an additional 20,064 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Paychex by 2.8% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 997,930 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $142,055,000 after purchasing an additional 27,296 shares during the period. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 120.0% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 6,936 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $973,000 after purchasing an additional 3,783 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays boosted their target price 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $148.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $133.23.

Paychex Price Performance

Paychex stock opened at $144.13 on Wednesday. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $114.72 and a 52 week high of $158.37. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $147.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $142.99. The stock has a market cap of $51.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.34, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were issued 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 yield of 2.72%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.53%.

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.