Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Sold by Ifrah Financial Services Inc.

Ifrah Financial Services Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,869 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 156 shares during the quarter. Ifrah Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $461,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC boosted its position in Paychex by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,089 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $249,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the period. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Paychex by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 5,062 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $603,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Paychex by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 71,045 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,462,000 after acquiring an additional 1,504 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Paychex by 53.9% during the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 6,142 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $732,000 after acquiring an additional 2,152 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its stake in Paychex by 751.5% during the 4th quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 90,401 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $10,767,000 after acquiring an additional 79,784 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of PAYX stock traded up $1.65 on Friday, reaching $120.10. 1,540,545 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,951,709. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $104.09 and a 12-month high of $129.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24. The company has a market capitalization of $43.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.93. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $121.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $120.40.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 2nd. The business services provider reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.01. Paychex had a return on equity of 46.14% and a net margin of 31.86%. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.46 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.29 earnings per share. Paychex’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Friday, January 19th that allows the company to buyback $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to buy up to 0.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. This is an increase from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.26%. Paychex’s payout ratio is currently 77.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PAYX has been the topic of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI reissued an “in-line” rating and issued a $118.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on Paychex from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.00.

Paychex Company Profile

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.