Richardson Financial Services Inc. Sells 365 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Richardson Financial Services Inc. lessened its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 49.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 380 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 365 shares during the quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $53,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in Paychex by 27.4% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 988,417 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $132,636,000 after acquiring an additional 212,700 shares during the last quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD lifted its stake in Paychex by 4.6% in the third quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 1,567,667 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $210,282,000 after purchasing an additional 68,627 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Paychex by 169.9% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,624 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,023,000 after purchasing an additional 4,799 shares during the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. grew its holdings in Paychex by 2.3% during the third quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 187,663 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $25,182,000 after purchasing an additional 4,157 shares during the period. Finally, Miracle Mile Advisors LLC increased its position in Paychex by 91.1% in the fourth quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 10,808 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,515,000 after buying an additional 5,153 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Paychex Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $147.67 on Monday. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $114.72 and a twelve month high of $150.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The stock has a market cap of $53.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.09, a PEG ratio of 4.01 and a beta of 1.00. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $142.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $137.28.

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

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.65%. Paychex’s payout ratio is 82.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on PAYX shares. Barclays increased their price target on Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $148.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.