Gulf International Bank UK Ltd Has $3.56 Million Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Gulf International Bank UK Ltd trimmed its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 25,403 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 272 shares during the quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd’s holdings in Paychex were worth $3,562,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Avion Wealth grew its position in Paychex by 469.8% during the 4th quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 245 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its holdings in Paychex by 42.0% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. MilWealth Group LLC bought a new position in Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Asset Planning Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of Paychex stock opened at $148.76 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $144.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $140.30. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $114.72 and a 1-year high of $151.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The company has a market cap of $53.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.32, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.00.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.02. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.28% and a net margin of 32.02%. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.64%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PAYX has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $148.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $132.23.

About Paychex

Paychex, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides integrated human capital management solutions (HCM) for payroll, benefits, human resources (HR), 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.