London Co. of Virginia Cuts Stake in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

London Co. of Virginia lowered its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 4.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,445,883 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 74,629 shares during the quarter. London Co. of Virginia’s holdings in Paychex were worth $162,201,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Paychex during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Stance Capital LLC purchased a new position in Paychex during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Paychex during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Caitlin John LLC purchased a new position in Paychex during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Finally, KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp purchased a new position in Paychex during the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $100.28 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $94.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $99.85. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $85.45 and a twelve month high of $154.29. The company has a market capitalization of $35.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.09 and a beta of 0.84.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.04. Paychex had a net margin of 25.84% and a return on equity of 48.52%. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.78 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.49 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th were issued a dividend of $1.19 per share. This is an increase from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 13th. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.7%. Paychex’s payout ratio is 104.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PAYX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Guggenheim initiated coverage on shares of Paychex in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Paychex in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Argus upgraded shares of Paychex to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Paychex from $148.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Paychex from $116.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $109.19.

Paychex Company Profile

Paychex, Inc, founded in 1971 by B. Thomas “Tom” Golisano and headquartered in Rochester, New York, is a provider of payroll, human resources, and benefits outsourcing solutions for small- and medium-sized businesses. The company’s core services include payroll processing and tax filing, employee benefits administration, retirement services, and workers’ compensation administration, designed to simplify back-office operations and help clients comply with regulatory and tax requirements.

Paychex offers an integrated technology platform, marketed under the Paychex Flex brand, which delivers cloud-based payroll, HR, time and attendance, and reporting tools.