Stratos Investment Management LLC Sells 998 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Stratos Investment Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 34.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,924 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 998 shares during the period. Stratos Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $270,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in PAYX. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 42.0% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. MilWealth Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC grew its holdings 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 worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of PAYX opened at $150.87 on Thursday. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $114.72 and a 52-week high of $151.01. 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 business’s 50 day moving average price is $142.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $137.71. The firm has a market cap of $54.32 billion, a PE ratio of 31.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.00.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.28% and a net margin of 32.02%. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. Paychex’s payout ratio is 82.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on PAYX shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $148.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a report on Friday, December 20th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $132.23.

Paychex Company 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.