Pacer Advisors Inc. Has $16.98 Million Stake in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 5.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 151,386 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,812 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $16,982,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Titan Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter worth about $1,652,000. Evansbrook LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $149,000. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Paychex by 110.2% in the 4th quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,118 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,023,000 after acquiring an additional 4,780 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 800,221 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $89,607,000 after purchasing an additional 12,979 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strive Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at $1,556,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on PAYX. Argus upgraded shares of Paychex to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Paychex from $123.00 to $107.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. 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. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Paychex to $52.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Paychex from $125.00 to $100.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $108.19.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX opened at $98.24 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $94.72 and a 200-day moving average of $99.64. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $85.45 and a one year high of $152.57. The company has a market cap of $35.20 billion, a PE ratio of 21.64 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted 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 company had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.78 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 48.52% and a net margin of 25.84%.The company’s revenue was up 19.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.49 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th were paid a $1.19 dividend. This is a positive change from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 13th. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.8%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.