Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Sold by Autumn Glory Partners LLC

Autumn Glory Partners LLC lowered its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 51.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,630 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,799 shares during the quarter. Autumn Glory Partners LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $369,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 1.4% during the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 11,319 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,519,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 31.2% during the third quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 4,142 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $556,000 after purchasing an additional 986 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 19.1% during the third quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 8,638 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,159,000 after purchasing an additional 1,384 shares in the last quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex during the third quarter worth about $433,000. Finally, Drake & Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 14.1% during the third quarter. Drake & Associates LLC now owns 4,502 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $604,000 after purchasing an additional 555 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of Paychex stock opened at $147.25 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.00, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.00. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $114.72 and a 52 week high of $151.72. 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 is $143.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $138.69.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.32 billion for 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 firm’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS 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 paid a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.66%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on PAYX shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $148.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, December 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target 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. Finally, Barclays upped 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Paychex presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.