Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Sold by Woodstock Corp

Woodstock Corp reduced its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 3.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,251 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 124 shares during the period. Woodstock Corp’s holdings in Paychex were worth $456,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CVA Family Office LLC boosted its position in Paychex by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,388 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $186,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. 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. Kanawha Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Paychex by 1.8% during the third quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC now owns 4,283 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $575,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Paychex by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,628 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $487,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Daymark Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Paychex by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,847 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,167,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paychex Stock Performance

Paychex stock opened at $146.84 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The company has a market cap of $52.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 1.00. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $114.72 and a fifty-two week high of $150.71. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $142.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $134.90.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 32.02% and a return on equity of 45.28%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.08 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on PAYX. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $148.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently 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.