Welch Group LLC Sells 756 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Welch Group LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 403,801 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 756 shares during the quarter. Paychex accounts for about 2.5% of Welch Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest position. Welch Group LLC owned about 0.11% of Paychex worth $56,516,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its position in Paychex by 42.0% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its stake in Paychex by 152.6% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 293 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. MilWealth Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex in the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. 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. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $132.23.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX opened at $148.62 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.39. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $114.72 and a 1 year high of $150.71. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $142.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $137.35. The stock has a market cap of $53.51 billion, a PE ratio of 31.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.00.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its quarterly 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 return on equity of 45.28% and a net margin of 32.02%. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.64%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.53%.

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.