Baxter Bros Inc. Sells 1,303 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Baxter Bros Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 102,747 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,303 shares during the quarter. Paychex accounts for approximately 1.9% of Baxter Bros Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Baxter Bros Inc.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $14,407,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 187,663 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,182,000 after purchasing an additional 4,157 shares in the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC grew its stake in Paychex by 91.1% during the fourth quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 10,808 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,515,000 after buying an additional 5,153 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC lifted its stake in Paychex by 6.5% during the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 329,080 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $44,159,000 after purchasing an additional 20,064 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Paychex by 2.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 997,930 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $142,055,000 after buying an additional 27,296 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 120.0% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 6,936 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $973,000 after purchasing an additional 3,783 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Paychex Stock Performance

Paychex stock opened at $144.83 on Tuesday. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $114.72 and a 1-year high of $158.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.98. The company’s 50-day moving average is $147.86 and its 200 day moving average is $142.89. 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 Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.71%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on PAYX. Barclays boosted their price objective 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. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $148.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $133.23.

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.