BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S Reduces Position in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S cut its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 28.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 235,071 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 91,640 shares during the quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S’s holdings in Paychex were worth $24,717,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Paychex in the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Stance Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Paychex in the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. MMA Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Paychex in the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. Caitlin John LLC bought a new position in shares of Paychex in the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp bought a new position in shares of Paychex in the third quarter worth approximately $37,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on PAYX shares. Argus raised Paychex to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Guggenheim began coverage on Paychex in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Citigroup reduced their price target on Paychex from $120.00 to $99.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Stephens reduced their price target on Paychex from $125.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Paychex from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $106.38.

Paychex Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of PAYX opened at $100.53 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.14 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $93.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $100.42. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $85.45 and a 1 year high of $161.24.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.78 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 48.52% and a net margin of 25.84%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.49 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th were given a $1.19 dividend. This is a boost from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 13th. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.7%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 104.85%.

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.