Wright Investors Service Inc. Sells 3,751 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Wright Investors Service Inc. reduced its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 67.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,782 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 3,751 shares during the quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc.'s holdings in Paychex were worth $250,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 286.0% in the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 220 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 42.0% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 152.6% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 293 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC raised its position in Paychex by 805.9% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 308 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $148.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Barclays raised their target price 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. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $132.23.

Paychex Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of PAYX traded up $1.18 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $141.71. The stock had a trading volume of 1,729,365 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,867,268. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $142.36 and a 200 day moving average of $134.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company has a market cap of $51.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 1.00. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $114.72 and a 52 week high of $150.71.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.02. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.97% and a net margin of 31.98%. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.08 EPS. Paychex's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. Paychex's dividend payout ratio is 82.53%.

Paychex Company 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.