Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) is Troy Asset Management Ltd's 7th Largest Position

Troy Asset Management Ltd trimmed its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 5.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,244,562 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 74,164 shares during the period. Paychex accounts for approximately 4.8% of Troy Asset Management Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Troy Asset Management Ltd owned approximately 0.35% of Paychex worth $148,240,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Paychex in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Carmel Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in Paychex by 91.5% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 272 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Fortis Group Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Paychex during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Paychex in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wedbush restated a "neutral" rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI reiterated an "in-line" rating and set a $118.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Paychex has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $123.00.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX traded up $1.25 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $122.55. 1,062,890 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,764,520. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $104.09 and a twelve month high of $129.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The firm has a market cap of $44.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.64, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.93. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $121.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $120.49.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 2nd. The business services provider reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.46 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 46.14% and a net margin of 31.86%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.29 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.71 EPS for the current year.

Paychex declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Friday, January 19th that allows the company to repurchase $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to reacquire up to 0.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. This is a boost from Paychex's previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.20%. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 85.40%.

About Paychex

Paychex, Inc provides integrated human capital management solutions for human resources (HR), payroll, benefits, 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding PAYX? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.