Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Sold by Inspire Investing LLC

Inspire Investing LLC cut its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,395 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 838 shares during the quarter. Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $4,683,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PAYX. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 42.0% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Quarry LP grew its stake in Paychex by 152.6% in 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 during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its stake in Paychex by 805.9% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 308 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. Finally, City Holding Co. acquired a new stake in Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paychex Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $144.77 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $52.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.48, a PEG ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 1.00. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $114.72 and a 1-year high of $150.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $142.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $135.89.

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

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.71%. Paychex’s payout ratio is 82.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective 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. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report 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, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $132.23.

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.