Wealthspire Advisors LLC Sells 814 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Wealthspire Advisors LLC lowered its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 5.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,099 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 814 shares during the quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $1,837,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Paychex by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 28,356 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,976,000 after buying an additional 1,084 shares during the period. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc boosted its position in Paychex by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 10,534 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,477,000 after acquiring an additional 379 shares during the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp grew its holdings in Paychex by 10.8% during the 4th quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 13,598 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,907,000 after acquiring an additional 1,326 shares during the period. Redmond Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Paychex by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Redmond Asset Management LLC now owns 14,100 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,977,000 after acquiring an additional 970 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Physicians Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Physicians Financial Services Inc. now owns 4,052 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $568,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $148.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a report on Friday, December 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $132.23.

Paychex Price Performance

Paychex stock opened at $149.89 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $53.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.56, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.00. 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 company’s 50 day moving average price is $144.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $139.99. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $114.72 and a 52 week high of $151.72.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued 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 analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.28% and a net margin of 32.02%. Paychex’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.08 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.62%. 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.