Ritholtz Wealth Management Sells 12,433 Shares of Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Key Points

• Ritholtz Wealth Management cut its stake in Paychex by 57.1% in Q4, selling 12,433 shares and leaving it with 9,333 shares valued at approximately $1,047,000.
• Paychex beat Q results expectations with $1.71 EPS and revenue up 19.9% year-over-year, and the board authorized a $1.00 billion buyback while the stock yields about 4.9% (annualized dividend $4.32) with a payout ratio near 95%.

Ritholtz Wealth Management trimmed its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 57.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,333 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 12,433 shares during the quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management's holdings in Paychex were worth $1,047,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Paychex during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in Paychex during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Stance Capital LLC bought a new position in Paychex during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. MMA Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Paychex during the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new position in Paychex during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Paychex Trading Down 0.5%

NASDAQ PAYX opened at $88.85 on Wednesday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $93.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $107.22. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $85.45 and a 12 month high of $161.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.83 billion, a PE ratio of 19.57 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.04. Paychex had a return on equity of 48.52% and a net margin of 25.84%.The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.78 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.49 EPS. The business's revenue was up 19.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Friday, January 16th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 28th were given a dividend of $1.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 28th. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.9%. Paychex's dividend payout ratio is 95.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on PAYX. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on Paychex from $125.00 to $102.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Paychex from $116.00 to $95.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Paychex from $148.00 to $125.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Guggenheim initiated coverage on shares of Paychex in a report on Thursday, March 19th. They issued a "neutral" rating on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Paychex from $95.00 to $94.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $106.38.

Paychex Company Profile

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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