Unigestion Holding SA Lowers Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Unigestion Holding SA reduced its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 15.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 250,902 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 44,790 shares during the quarter. Paychex comprises about 2.0% of Unigestion Holding SA’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Unigestion Holding SA owned 0.07% of Paychex worth $35,181,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PAYX. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 220.7% during the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 186 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in Paychex during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Paychex during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in Paychex during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Avion Wealth lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 469.8% in the 4th quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 245 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Paychex Trading Down 6.7 %

NASDAQ PAYX opened at $143.32 on Friday. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $115.40 and a 12-month high of $158.37. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $148.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $143.91. 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 stock has a market cap of $51.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.17, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.98.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.51 billion during 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.38 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were given 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 yield of 2.74%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 81.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on PAYX shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $148.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a report on Friday, December 20th. Barclays boosted their price target on Paychex from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Citigroup raised their price objective on Paychex from $145.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. UBS Group increased their price target 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. Finally, Cfra Research raised shares of Paychex to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $141.00.

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.