Confluence Wealth Services Inc. Sells 810 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Confluence Wealth Services Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 8.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,955 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 810 shares during the quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $1,296,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Paychex by 16.6% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 347,163 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $49,012,000 after acquiring an additional 49,537 shares in the last quarter. Jackson Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Paychex during the 4th quarter worth $3,707,000. Weaver Capital Management LLC increased its position in 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 purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. raised its stake in Paychex by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 10,508 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,474,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Finally, E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB lifted its holdings in Paychex by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB now owns 14,500 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,033,000 after buying an additional 1,300 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paychex Trading Up 0.6 %

NASDAQ PAYX opened at $149.51 on Wednesday. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $114.72 and a 12 month high of $150.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.48, a PEG ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.00. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $142.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $137.71.

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

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PAYX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $148.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Barclays increased their price target on Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Paychex presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $132.23.

Paychex Profile

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.