Paychex, Inc. $PAYX Shares Sold by Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 5.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 122,214 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 6,376 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $13,710,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of PAYX. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Paychex by 26.3% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,710 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $801,000 after purchasing an additional 1,190 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC grew its stake in Paychex by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 4,035 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $566,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new position in Paychex during the 1st quarter worth $3,333,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in Paychex by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 41,081 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,976,000 after purchasing an additional 1,290 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in Paychex by 47.1% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 156,680 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $22,790,000 after purchasing an additional 50,169 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Argus raised Paychex to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Paychex from $120.00 to $99.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Paychex from $95.00 to $94.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Paychex from $116.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised Paychex to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $106.38.

Paychex Stock Down 0.4%

PAYX opened at $93.93 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $92.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $103.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The company has a market cap of $33.65 billion, a PE ratio of 20.69 and a beta of 0.84. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $85.45 and a 52 week high of $161.24.

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

Paychex Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be issued a $1.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 13th. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.1%. This is an increase from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. Paychex’s payout ratio is currently 104.85%.

Paychex announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Friday, January 16th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.