Saratoga Research & Investment Management Decreases Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Saratoga Research & Investment Management decreased its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 17.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 3,882 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 830 shares during the period. Saratoga Research & Investment Management’s holdings in Paychex were worth $544,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Monument Capital Management increased its holdings in Paychex by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Monument Capital Management now owns 1,714 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $240,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 2,881 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $423,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Paychex by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC now owns 3,017 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $423,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Weaver Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC now owns 2,121 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $297,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Adero Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Paychex by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Adero Partners LLC now owns 2,391 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $335,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Paychex Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $151.03 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.38 billion, a PE ratio of 31.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.39. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $114.72 and a 52-week high of $158.37. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $148.22 and a 200 day moving average of $143.37.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.51 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.28% and a net margin of 32.02%. The company’s revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.38 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.60%. Paychex’s payout ratio is 81.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $148.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a report on Friday, December 20th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Paychex from $145.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Barclays raised their target price on Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Paychex from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $137.58.

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.