Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Sells 308,668 Shares of Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Key Points

• Epoch Investment Partners cut its Paychex stake by 44.4% in the fourth quarter, selling 308,668 shares and leaving it with 386,679 shares worth about $43.4 million.
• Institutional ownership remains high, with 83.47% of Paychex shares held by institutions and several other funds recently adding to their positions.
• Paychex reported better-than-expected quarterly results, and it also raised its dividend to $1.19 per share, though analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Hold with an average price target of $106.63.

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. reduced its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 44.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 386,679 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 308,668 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. owned approximately 0.11% of Paychex worth $43,378,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bontempo Ohly Capital Mgmt LLC increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Bontempo Ohly Capital Mgmt LLC now owns 32,042 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,594,000 after buying an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 15,627 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,753,000 after buying an additional 1,202 shares during the last quarter. Ally Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Ally Financial Inc. now owns 20,000 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,244,000 after buying an additional 1,200 shares during the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 23.3% in the 4th quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 30,980 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,475,000 after buying an additional 5,862 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 48,806 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $5,475,000 after buying an additional 3,894 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PAYX has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $100.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Stephens reduced their target price on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $105.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Paychex from $116.00 to $95.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 26th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Paychex to $52.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating on shares of Paychex in a report on Thursday, May 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $106.63.

Paychex Price Performance

PAYX stock opened at $100.63 on Monday. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $85.45 and a 12 month high of $154.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $93.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $100.01. The stock has a market cap of $36.05 billion, a PE ratio of 22.17 and a beta of 0.84.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.04. Paychex had a net margin of 25.84% and a return on equity of 48.52%. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.78 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.49 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 19.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 13th were paid a dividend of $1.19 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 13th. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.7%. This is a boost from Paychex's previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. Paychex's dividend payout ratio is presently 104.85%.

About Paychex

Paychex, Inc, founded in 1971 by B. Thomas "Tom" Golisano and headquartered in Rochester, New York, is a provider of payroll, human resources, and benefits outsourcing solutions for small- and medium-sized businesses. The company's core services include payroll processing and tax filing, employee benefits administration, retirement services, and workers' compensation administration, designed to simplify back-office operations and help clients comply with regulatory and tax requirements.

Paychex offers an integrated technology platform, marketed under the Paychex Flex brand, which delivers cloud-based payroll, HR, time and attendance, and reporting tools.

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