PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. reduced its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 970,400 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 7,691 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $108,860,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Paychex by 17.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,765,468 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,787,151,000 after acquiring an additional 5,549,511 shares during the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the third quarter valued at about $117,809,000. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at about $75,921,000. Select Equity Group L.P. lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 15.9% during the second quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 4,051,413 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $589,319,000 after purchasing an additional 557,101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Paychex by 38.1% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,856,157 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $235,286,000 after purchasing an additional 511,728 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Paychex Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX opened at $94.92 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.01 billion, a PE ratio of 20.91 and a beta of 0.84. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $85.45 and a one year high of $161.24. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $91.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $101.66.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.04. Paychex had a return on equity of 48.52% and a net margin of 25.84%.The company had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.78 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.49 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.5 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be paid a $1.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 13th. This is a positive change from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.0%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is 104.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on PAYX. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Paychex from $148.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Argus upgraded Paychex to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Paychex to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Guggenheim assumed coverage on Paychex in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on Paychex from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $106.38.

Paychex 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.