Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Sold by Nisa Investment Advisors LLC

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC trimmed its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 107,862 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,032 shares during the quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $15,124,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its holdings in Paychex by 42.0% in 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 during the period. Quarry LP increased its position in shares of Paychex by 152.6% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 293 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 805.9% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, City Holding Co. purchased a new stake in Paychex during the 4th quarter worth $42,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on PAYX shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $148.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $132.23.

Paychex Stock Performance

PAYX stock opened at $144.77 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $142.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $135.83. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $114.72 and a 12-month high of $150.71. The firm has a market cap of $52.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.48, a P/E/G ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

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

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.53%.

About Paychex

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.