Spectrum Wealth Counsel LLC Reduces Stock Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Spectrum Wealth Counsel LLC lessened its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,058 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 277 shares during the quarter. Spectrum Wealth Counsel LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $3,373,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Monument Capital Management increased its position in Paychex by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Monument Capital Management now owns 1,714 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $240,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Paychex by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 2,881 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $423,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Paychex by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC now owns 3,017 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $423,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Paychex by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC now owns 4,283 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $575,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Weaver Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Paychex by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC now owns 2,121 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $297,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Trading Up 2.0 %

Paychex stock opened at $151.67 on Friday. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $114.72 and a 52-week high of $151.86. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $54.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.93, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $145.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $140.50.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted 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. Paychex had a net margin of 32.02% and a return on equity of 45.28%. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.08 EPS. Paychex’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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