DAVENPORT & Co LLC lessened its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX – Get Rating) by 3.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 13,123 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 414 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $1,516,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dean Investment Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Dean Investment Associates LLC now owns 18,774 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,138,000 after acquiring an additional 233 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 13.6% in the 3rd quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 17,308 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,942,000 after acquiring an additional 2,066 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 7.9% in the third quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 7,663 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $859,000 after purchasing an additional 564 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 89.7% in the third quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,324 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $710,000 after purchasing an additional 2,990 shares during the period. Finally, Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 5.5% in the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 10,757 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,207,000 after purchasing an additional 563 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.14% of the company’s stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several brokerages recently commented on PAYX. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of Paychex from $123.00 to $116.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Paychex from $119.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Paychex from $119.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Paychex in a report on Thursday, March 16th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.86.
Paychex Stock Performance
Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 29th. The business services provider reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.35 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 30.54% and a return on equity of 46.56%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.15 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.
Paychex Dividend Announcement
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, February 9th were issued a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 8th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.76%. Paychex’s payout ratio is 76.14%.
About Paychex
Paychex, Inc engages in the provision of human capital management solutions for payroll, human resources, insurance and retirement for small and medium-sized businesses. Its solutions include payroll services, hiring services, business insurance, time and attendance, employee benefits, finance and payments, human resources services and startup services.
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