Paychex, Inc. $PAYX Shares Sold by Aberdeen Group plc

Aberdeen Group plc trimmed its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 239,560 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 7,355 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc’s holdings in Paychex were worth $26,874,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of PAYX. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Stance Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. MMA Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new position in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on PAYX shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $123.00 to $107.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Paychex in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wolfe Research reduced their price target on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $115.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Paychex from $125.00 to $100.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Paychex from $137.00 to $126.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $108.81.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX opened at $91.70 on Monday. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $86.89 and a 12-month high of $161.24. The stock has a market cap of $32.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.20 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The company has a 50-day moving average of $95.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $109.18.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.04. Paychex had a net margin of 25.84% and a return on equity of 48.52%. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.78 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.49 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 19.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 28th were issued a dividend of $1.08 per share. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 28th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is 95.15%.

Paychex declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Friday, January 16th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Paychex Company Profile

Paychex, Inc, founded in 1971 by B. Thomas “Tom” Golisano and headquartered in Rochester, New York, is a provider of payroll, human resources, and benefits outsourcing solutions for small- and medium-sized businesses. The company’s core services include payroll processing and tax filing, employee benefits administration, retirement services, and workers’ compensation administration, designed to simplify back-office operations and help clients comply with regulatory and tax requirements.

Paychex offers an integrated technology platform, marketed under the Paychex Flex brand, which delivers cloud-based payroll, HR, time and attendance, and reporting tools.