Empirical Asset Management LLC Has $2.12 Million Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Empirical Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 32.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,101 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,695 shares during the period. Empirical Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $2,117,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CVA Family Office LLC boosted its stake in Paychex by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,388 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $186,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 42.0% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 1.8% during the third quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC now owns 4,283 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $575,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Paychex by 2.2% during the third quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,628 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $487,000 after buying an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daymark Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Paychex by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,847 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,167,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on PAYX. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $148.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, December 20th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $132.23.

Paychex Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of PAYX opened at $146.29 on Friday. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $114.72 and a fifty-two week high of $150.71. The business has a 50-day moving average of $142.32 and a 200 day moving average of $134.98. The firm has a market cap of $52.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.39.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.02. Paychex had a net margin of 32.02% and a return on equity of 45.28%. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.08 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.68%. Paychex’s payout ratio is 82.53%.

About Paychex

Paychex, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides integrated human capital management solutions (HCM) for payroll, benefits, human resources (HR), and insurance services for small to medium-sized businesses in the United States, Europe, and India. It offers payroll processing services; payroll tax administration services; employee payment services; and regulatory compliance services, such as new-hire reporting and garnishment processing.