Autumn Glory Partners LLC Trims Stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Autumn Glory Partners LLC reduced its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 51.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor 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 reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its holdings in Paychex by 42.0% in 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 during the period. Avion Wealth grew 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 purchasing an additional 202 shares during the period. MilWealth Group LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Paychex Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of PAYX opened at $147.25 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $114.72 and a 12-month high of $151.72. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $143.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $138.69. 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 (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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.02. Paychex had a net margin of 32.02% and a return on equity of 45.28%. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. Paychex’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on PAYX. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $148.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a report on Friday, December 20th. Barclays increased their price objective on Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average 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.