AGF Management Ltd. Sells 6,388 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

AGF Management Ltd. decreased its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 26.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,704 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 6,388 shares during the period. AGF Management Ltd.'s holdings in Paychex were worth $2,482,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in shares of Paychex in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Avion Wealth boosted its stake in Paychex by 469.8% during the 4th quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 245 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. MilWealth Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new position in shares of Paychex in the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex in the third quarter worth $36,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on PAYX shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $148.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a report on Friday, December 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price 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 analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $133.23.

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Paychex Stock Performance

PAYX traded up $2.55 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $147.99. The company had a trading volume of 1,897,010 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,771,043. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $114.72 and a 1 year high of $158.37. 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 has a market cap of $53.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.16, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.98. The business has a 50-day moving average of $147.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $142.26.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last released its 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 company had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 32.02% and a return on equity of 45.28%. The firm's revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.08 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.65%. Paychex's payout ratio is presently 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.