Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Sells 104 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI cut its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 3,120 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 104 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in Paychex were worth $438,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Avion Wealth grew its holdings in Paychex by 469.8% during the 4th 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 position in Paychex during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Asset Planning Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Paychex Stock Performance

PAYX opened at $143.56 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $51.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.22, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $146.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $141.98. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $114.72 and a 52-week high of $158.37.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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 $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.73%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on PAYX shares. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays lifted their price target on Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $133.23.

About Paychex

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.