Catalyst Financial Partners LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Catalyst Financial Partners LLC cut its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,883 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 82 shares during the quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $404,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Mutual Advisors LLC boosted 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 valued at $423,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its position in Paychex by 42.0% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Paychex by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC now owns 2,121 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $297,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Adero Partners LLC boosted its position in Paychex by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Adero Partners LLC now owns 2,391 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $335,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PAYX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays boosted their target price on Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $148.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Two 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 price target of $132.23.

Paychex Stock Performance

NASDAQ PAYX opened at $147.25 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $53.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.00. The business has a fifty day moving average of $143.27 and a 200-day moving average of $138.69. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $114.72 and a fifty-two week 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.

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

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.66%. Paychex’s payout ratio is currently 82.53%.

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.