Franklin Resources Inc. Trims Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Franklin Resources Inc. lowered its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 19.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 806,956 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 190,974 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $113,151,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 220.7% in the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 186 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Avion Wealth raised its position in Paychex by 469.8% during the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 245 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Up 0.2 %

PAYX stock opened at $154.94 on Thursday. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $148.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $143.73. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $115.40 and a 12 month high of $158.37. The company has a market cap of $55.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.62, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.98.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.28% and a net margin of 32.02%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.38 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.53%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Paychex’s payout ratio is currently 81.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Cfra Research upgraded Paychex to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Barclays raised their target price on Paychex from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. 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. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. 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.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $138.83.

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.