Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Sells 28,742 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. reduced its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,675,304 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 28,742 shares during the quarter. Paychex makes up 1.2% of Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. owned 0.47% of Paychex worth $234,911,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,044,631 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,408,458,000 after acquiring an additional 519,761 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in Paychex by 8.5% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 40,190 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,635,000 after purchasing an additional 3,140 shares during the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Paychex by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 25,796 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,617,000 after purchasing an additional 823 shares during the period. Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Paychex by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. now owns 20,466 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,870,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 19.9% during the 4th quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,123 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $316,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Price Performance

Paychex stock opened at $153.37 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.29, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.00. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $114.72 and a one year high of $154.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $145.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $140.91.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.56%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $132.23.

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.