BLB&B Advisors LLC Trims Stock Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

BLB&B Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,517 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 565 shares during the quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $1,755,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its position in Paychex by 42.0% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. MilWealth Group LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex during the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, City Holding Co. purchased a new position in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Paychex Trading Down 2.2 %

Shares of Paychex stock opened at $146.74 on Friday. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $114.72 and a twelve month high of $151.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $143.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $137.89. The firm has a market cap of $52.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.89, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.00.

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

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be given 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 presently 82.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $148.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a report on Friday, December 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective 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. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Paychex has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $132.23.

Paychex Company 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.