Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Sold by Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC

Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC cut its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 4.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 41,737 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 2,020 shares during the period. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC's holdings in Paychex were worth $5,852,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE raised its position in shares of Paychex by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 18,832 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,641,000 after purchasing an additional 1,567 shares during the last quarter. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Paychex during the 4th quarter worth approximately $68,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,521,025 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,419,878,000 after acquiring an additional 174,817 shares during the last quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $493,000. Finally, LPL Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 795,866 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $111,596,000 after acquiring an additional 66,633 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Paychex Trading Down 0.5 %

NASDAQ:PAYX traded down $0.70 on Tuesday, hitting $144.13. The stock had a trading volume of 3,387,206 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,782,113. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $147.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $142.99. 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 stock has a market cap of $51.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.34, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.98.

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Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.72%. Paychex's payout ratio is 82.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on PAYX shares. UBS Group increased their price objective on Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $148.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $133.23.

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.