Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Sold by Royal Fund Management LLC

Royal Fund Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 3.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 32,107 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,177 shares during the period. Royal Fund Management LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $3,825,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. Griffin Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Paychex by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc. now owns 18,225 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,171,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,908 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $227,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Rogco LP lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Rogco LP now owns 8,469 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,009,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 3.5% during the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,852 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $329,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dohj LLC increased its position in shares of Paychex by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Dohj LLC now owns 3,242 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $386,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PAYX has been the subject of a number of research reports. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI reiterated an “in-line” rating and issued a $118.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $130.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Paychex from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Paychex has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.00.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of PAYX stock traded up $1.65 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $120.10. 1,540,545 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,951,709. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $104.09 and a 52-week high of $129.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company has a market cap of $43.23 billion, a PE ratio of 26.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.93. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $121.48 and a 200 day moving average of $120.40.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 2nd. The business services provider reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.46 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 46.14% and a net margin of 31.86%. Paychex’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.29 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. This is a boost from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.26%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.56%.

Paychex announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Friday, January 19th that authorizes the company to repurchase $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to reacquire up to 0.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

About Paychex

Paychex, Inc provides integrated human capital management solutions for human resources (HR), payroll, benefits, 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.