TD Asset Management Inc Reduces Holdings in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

TD Asset Management Inc lessened its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 68.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 274,562 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 590,114 shares during the quarter. TD Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Paychex were worth $30,800,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 957.1% during the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 296 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the period. Stance Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. MMA Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Kingdom Financial Group LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on PAYX. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, April 24th. TD Cowen upgraded Paychex to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Paychex from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Paychex from $116.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on Paychex from $120.00 to $99.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $106.38.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX opened at $100.53 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.14 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $93.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $100.42. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $85.45 and a twelve month high of $161.24.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.78 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 48.52% and a net margin of 25.84%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 19.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.49 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th were paid a $1.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 13th. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.7%. This is an increase from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 104.85%.

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.