Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Sold by Choreo LLC

Choreo LLC lessened its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 14,462 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 286 shares during the period. Choreo LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $2,026,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in Paychex in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted 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 valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. MilWealth Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the third quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC boosted 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 valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX opened at $146.74 on Friday. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $114.72 and a fifty-two week high of $151.72. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $143.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $137.89. 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 stock has a market cap of $52.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.89, a P/E/G 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 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 company had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. Paychex’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.67%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on PAYX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target 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 boosted their price target on shares of Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $148.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a report on Friday, December 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock 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.