Godsey & Gibb Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Godsey & Gibb Inc. cut its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 157,524 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,827 shares during the quarter. Paychex makes up about 2.2% of Godsey & Gibb Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Godsey & Gibb Inc.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $22,088,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its holdings in Paychex by 42.0% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 152.6% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 293 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the third quarter valued at $36,000. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 805.9% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 308 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in Paychex during the 2nd quarter worth about $63,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paychex Stock Up 1.8 %

PAYX opened at $144.27 on Thursday. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $114.72 and a 1 year high of $150.71. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $142.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $134.84. 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 company has a market cap of $51.95 billion, a PE ratio of 30.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 1.00.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.32 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.08 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders 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 2.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on PAYX. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Barclays boosted 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. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Paychex currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $132.23.

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.