Autumn Glory Partners LLC Sells 2,799 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Autumn Glory Partners LLC cut its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 51.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,630 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 2,799 shares during the quarter. Autumn Glory Partners LLC's holdings in Paychex were worth $369,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 11,319 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,519,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the period. Good Life Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 31.2% in the 3rd quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 4,142 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $556,000 after purchasing an additional 986 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Paychex by 19.1% during the third quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 8,638 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,159,000 after purchasing an additional 1,384 shares during the period. Secure Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex in the third quarter worth $433,000. Finally, Drake & Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 14.1% during the 3rd quarter. Drake & Associates LLC now owns 4,502 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $604,000 after acquiring an additional 555 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Paychex Price Performance

PAYX traded up $1.64 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $150.04. The stock had a trading volume of 1,094,471 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,738,811. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $114.72 and a 1 year high of $151.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.39. The business has a fifty day moving average of $143.61 and a 200 day moving average of $139.28. The company has a market cap of $54.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 1.00.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 32.02% and a return on equity of 45.28%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.08 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.61%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. Paychex's dividend payout ratio is presently 82.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed 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 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 target price on Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $132.23.

About Paychex

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.