Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Sold by Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC decreased its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,271 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 125 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $1,300,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in shares of Paychex in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Avion Wealth grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 469.8% in the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 245 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. MilWealth Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Asset Planning Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $153.48 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $146.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $141.54. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $114.72 and a one year high of $154.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.31, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.98.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 EPS 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 in the prior year, the company earned $1.08 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.55%. Paychex’s payout ratio is 82.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PAYX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $148.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Barclays lifted 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. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Paychex presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $133.23.

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.