111 Capital Has $1.50 Million Stock Holdings in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

111 Capital increased its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 174.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,362 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,487 shares during the period. 111 Capital’s holdings in Paychex were worth $1,499,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $434,000. Pinebridge Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $7,298,000. PBU The Pension Fund of Early Childhood & Youth Educators acquired a new stake in Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,727,000. Taylor Hoffman Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Paychex by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Taylor Hoffman Capital Management LLC now owns 41,972 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,708,000 after acquiring an additional 1,369 shares during the period. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd grew its stake in Paychex by 21.7% in the fourth quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 26,871 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,014,000 after acquiring an additional 4,800 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on PAYX shares. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Paychex from $120.00 to $99.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of Paychex in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Paychex from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 26th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Paychex from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Guggenheim assumed coverage on Paychex in a report on Thursday, March 19th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $106.38.

Paychex Price Performance

Paychex stock opened at $100.53 on Friday. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $85.45 and a 52 week high of $161.24. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $93.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $100.42. 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 has a market cap of $36.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.14 and a beta of 0.84.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 in the previous year, the company posted $1.49 EPS. Paychex’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

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

Paychex Company 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.