AdvisorNet Financial Inc Decreases Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

AdvisorNet Financial Inc reduced its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX – Free Report) by 22.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,389 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 410 shares during the quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc’s holdings in Paychex were worth $195,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Paychex by 49.4% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 154,587 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $18,328,000 after purchasing an additional 51,085 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Paychex by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,568 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $779,000 after buying an additional 367 shares during the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI purchased a new position in shares of Paychex in the 2nd quarter valued at $239,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its stake in Paychex by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 52,345 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,206,000 after acquiring an additional 784 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lifted its position in Paychex by 7.0% in the second quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 11,112 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,317,000 after acquiring an additional 731 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Down 0.4 %

PAYX stock opened at $146.29 on Friday. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $114.72 and a one year high of $150.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.39. The company has a fifty day moving average of $142.32 and a 200-day moving average of $134.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.67 billion, a PE ratio of 30.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 1.00.

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

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on PAYX shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $148.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a report on Friday, December 20th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $132.23.

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on PAYX

Paychex Profile

(Free Report)

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.