Hamlin Capital Management LLC Acquires 68,594 Shares of Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Hamlin Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 5.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,359,025 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 68,594 shares during the quarter. Paychex comprises approximately 3.7% of Hamlin Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Hamlin Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $152,455,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 26.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,710 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $801,000 after acquiring an additional 1,190 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 4,035 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $566,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex in the first quarter valued at approximately $3,333,000. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 53.0% in the second quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 13,951 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,029,000 after purchasing an additional 4,833 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in Paychex by 128.8% in the 2nd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 31,286 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,551,000 after purchasing an additional 17,613 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Paychex from $133.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on Paychex from $125.00 to $102.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Paychex in a research report on Monday, December 29th. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Paychex in a report on Monday, December 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Paychex from $121.00 to $103.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $121.38.

Paychex Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX opened at $92.55 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $33.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.99 and a beta of 0.91. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $98.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $112.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.27. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $86.89 and a 52-week high of $161.24.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its earnings results on Friday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.55 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 26.45% and a return on equity of 46.38%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.14 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 28th were issued a $1.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 28th. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.7%. Paychex’s payout ratio is 97.96%.

Paychex announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Friday, January 16th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.