Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC decreased its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 34.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 222,045 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 114,379 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC owned about 0.06% of Paychex worth $31,135,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of PAYX. AE Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Paychex by 8.4% in the second quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,604 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $783,000 after purchasing an additional 513 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in Paychex by 1.8% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 112,093 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $13,290,000 after purchasing an additional 1,980 shares during the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in Paychex by 6.7% in the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 26,011 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,084,000 after purchasing an additional 1,638 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its stake in Paychex by 75.6% in the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 11,816 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,401,000 after purchasing an additional 5,086 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex during the second quarter worth $6,371,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PAYX has been the topic of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays increased their target price on Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $148.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $132.23.

Paychex Stock Down 0.0 %

PAYX opened at $144.75 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $52.12 billion, a PE ratio of 30.47, a P/E/G ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 1.00. 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 52 week low of $114.72 and a 52 week high of $150.71. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $142.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $135.89.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion for 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%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.71%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.53%.

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.