Martin Capital Partners LLC Reduces Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Martin Capital Partners LLC reduced its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 62.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,341 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,840 shares during the period. Martin Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $328,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. MilWealth Group LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex in the third quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 805.9% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 308 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Paychex Stock Up 0.6 %

PAYX stock opened at $149.51 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $142.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $137.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.48, a PEG ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.00. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $114.72 and a fifty-two week high of $150.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.39.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 32.02% and a return on equity of 45.28%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

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 issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.62%. Paychex’s payout ratio is currently 82.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PAYX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $148.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.