Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. Decreases Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 6.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 275,155 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 19,856 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. owned about 0.08% of Paychex worth $32,774,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Paychex by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 15,425 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,779,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. increased its stake in Paychex by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. now owns 4,003 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $472,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. Penserra Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Paychex by 6.3% in the 1st quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 1,535 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $209,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. SVB Wealth LLC increased its stake in Paychex by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 8,849 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,208,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 3.5% during the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,852 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $329,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PAYX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $130.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, December 22nd. Citigroup dropped their price target on Paychex from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 26th. TD Cowen restated a “market perform” rating and set a $123.00 price target (down from $132.00) on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, December 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Paychex from $124.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI reissued an “in-line” rating and issued a $118.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a report on Tuesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Paychex presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $122.77.

Paychex Stock Up 1.6 %

PAYX stock opened at $121.53 on Thursday. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $104.09 and a 1-year high of $129.70. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $121.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $119.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.01, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.94.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 13th were given a dividend of $0.89 per share. This represents a $3.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 12th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.11%.

Paychex announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Friday, January 19th that permits the company to buyback $400.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to reacquire up to 0.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In related news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 15,481 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.53, for a total transaction of $1,865,924.93. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 82,690 shares in the company, valued at $9,966,625.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 11.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.