Marshall Financial Group LLC decreased its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 68.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,156 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 6,766 shares during the period. Marshall Financial Group LLC's holdings in Paychex were worth $443,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 42.0% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its stake in Paychex by 152.6% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 293 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 805.9% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 308 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. Finally, City Holding Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
A number of research firms have issued reports on PAYX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $132.23.
Check Out Our Latest Report on Paychex
Shares of PAYX opened at $146.11 on Friday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $142.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $136.16. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $114.72 and a 12-month high of $150.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.76, a P/E/G ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 1.00.
Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.02. The firm 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%. Paychex's quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.68%. Paychex's dividend payout ratio is currently 82.53%.
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.
This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected].
Before you consider Paychex, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Paychex wasn't on the list.
While Paychex currently has a "Reduce" rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.