Advisors Asset Management Inc. Reduces Stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. lowered its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 5.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 104,532 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 6,371 shares during the quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Paychex were worth $14,657,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. increased its position in Paychex by 2.3% during the third quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 187,663 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $25,182,000 after acquiring an additional 4,157 shares during the period. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 91.1% during the fourth quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 10,808 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,515,000 after purchasing an additional 5,153 shares in the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex during the third quarter valued at about $3,351,000. MML Investors Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 6.5% during the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 329,080 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $44,159,000 after purchasing an additional 20,064 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 2.8% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 997,930 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $142,055,000 after purchasing an additional 27,296 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on PAYX shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. UBS Group boosted 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $148.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a report on Friday, December 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $133.23.

Paychex Stock Performance

PAYX stock traded down $2.21 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $143.02. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,764,511 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,779,917. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $147.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $142.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $114.72 and a 1 year high of $158.37. The stock has a market cap of $51.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.11, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.98.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.02. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.28% and a net margin of 32.02%. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.08 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.74%. Paychex's dividend payout ratio is presently 82.53%.

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.