Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 190,974 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Franklin Resources Inc. decreased its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 19.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 806,956 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 190,974 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.22% of Paychex worth $113,151,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Monument Capital Management boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Monument Capital Management now owns 1,714 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $240,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Mutual Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Paychex by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 2,881 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $423,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. Emerald Advisors LLC increased its position in Paychex by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC now owns 3,017 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $423,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC now owns 2,121 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $297,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Adero Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Adero Partners LLC now owns 2,391 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $335,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on PAYX. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $148.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a report on Friday, December 20th. Barclays increased their price target on Paychex from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Cfra Research upgraded Paychex to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Citigroup increased their target price on Paychex from $145.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $138.83.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX opened at $154.94 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm has a market cap of $55.81 billion, a PE ratio of 32.62, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.98. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $115.40 and a 12 month high of $158.37. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $148.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $143.73.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.01. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.28% and a net margin of 32.02%. The business had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.38 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.53%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 81.67%.

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.