State of Alaska Department of Revenue Sells 4,364 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

State of Alaska Department of Revenue lowered its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 10.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 36,524 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 4,364 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue's holdings in Paychex were worth $5,121,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of PAYX. Mutual Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 2,881 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $423,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. CVA Family Office LLC boosted its stake in Paychex by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,388 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $186,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 42.0% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 1.8% in the third quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC now owns 4,283 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $575,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Weaver Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC now owns 2,121 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $297,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Paychex Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of PAYX traded down $0.91 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $146.10. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,404,096 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,812,385. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $114.72 and a 1 year high of $151.72. 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 $52.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.00. The business has a fifty day moving average of $143.06 and a 200 day moving average of $138.42.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.28% and a net margin of 32.02%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.08 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.68%. Paychex's dividend payout ratio is presently 82.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $148.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, 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 report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $132.23.

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.