&PARTNERS Grows Stake in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

&PARTNERS grew its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 5.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 388,940 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,375 shares during the period. &PARTNERS’s holdings in Paychex were worth $43,488,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its holdings in Paychex by 957.1% in the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 296 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 268 shares during the period. Stance Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Kingdom Financial Group LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Down 0.6%

PAYX stock opened at $100.28 on Wednesday. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $85.45 and a twelve month high of $154.29. 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 firm has a market cap of $35.93 billion, a PE ratio of 22.09 and a beta of 0.84. The business has a 50 day moving average of $94.30 and a 200 day moving average of $99.85.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 last year, the company earned $1.49 EPS. The firm’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 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 13th were given 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.7%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is 104.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PAYX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Paychex from $123.00 to $107.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Paychex from $148.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Paychex from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Paychex to $52.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Paychex presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $109.19.

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.