Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Sold by Dillon & Associates Inc.

Dillon & Associates Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 52,831 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,560 shares during the period. Dillon & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $7,396,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Avion Wealth increased its holdings in Paychex by 469.8% in the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 245 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. MilWealth Group LLC purchased a new position in Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Asset Planning Inc purchased a new position in Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paychex Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX opened at $143.02 on Monday. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $114.72 and a 12-month high of $158.37. The stock has a market cap of $51.50 billion, a PE ratio of 30.11, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The company has a 50-day moving average of $147.77 and a 200 day moving average of $142.78.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 32.02% and a return on equity of 45.28%. Paychex’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders 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 2.74%. Paychex’s payout ratio is 82.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in 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 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 note on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $148.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $133.23.

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.