Sabal Trust CO Lowers Stock Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Sabal Trust CO cut its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 2.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 229,786 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 6,019 shares during the quarter. Paychex makes up about 1.9% of Sabal Trust CO’s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Sabal Trust CO owned approximately 0.06% of Paychex worth $32,221,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Paychex by 42.8% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 32,317 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,337,000 after purchasing an additional 9,681 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Paychex by 36.7% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 13,210 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,773,000 after buying an additional 3,544 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Paychex by 5.5% in the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 86,565 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $11,616,000 after acquiring an additional 4,521 shares during the period. Inscription Capital LLC boosted its stake in Paychex by 15.1% in the third quarter. Inscription Capital LLC now owns 2,533 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $340,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Autumn Glory Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Paychex by 166.8% during the 3rd quarter. Autumn Glory Partners LLC now owns 5,429 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $729,000 after acquiring an additional 3,394 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on PAYX shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $148.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a report on Friday, December 20th. 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $132.23.

Paychex Stock Up 0.7 %

PAYX opened at $151.00 on Wednesday. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $114.72 and a 12 month high of $151.86. 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 business’s 50-day moving average price is $144.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $140.18. The company has a market cap of $54.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.79, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.00.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.08 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.60%. Paychex’s payout ratio is currently 82.53%.

Paychex 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.