Gator Capital Management LLC Invests $1.14 Million in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Gator Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 10,183 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,142,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of PAYX. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Paychex by 26.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,710 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $801,000 after purchasing an additional 1,190 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC raised its stake in Paychex by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 4,035 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $566,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new stake in Paychex in the 1st quarter worth about $3,333,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in Paychex by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 41,081 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,976,000 after purchasing an additional 1,290 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in Paychex by 47.1% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 156,680 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $22,790,000 after purchasing an additional 50,169 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on PAYX shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Paychex in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Paychex from $123.00 to $107.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Paychex from $148.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Guggenheim started coverage on shares of Paychex in a report on Thursday, March 19th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Paychex from $116.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Paychex presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $106.63.

Paychex Price Performance

PAYX stock opened at $100.63 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $36.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.17 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 company’s 50-day moving average price is $93.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $100.07. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $85.45 and a 12 month high of $154.90.

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

Paychex Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 13th were issued a dividend of $1.19 per share. This is a boost from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 13th. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.7%. Paychex’s payout ratio is presently 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.