Brighton Jones LLC Acquires 1,190 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 26.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 5,710 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,190 shares during the quarter. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $801,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PAYX. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 152.6% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 293 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Paychex by 805.9% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 308 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the period. Finally, City Holding Co. acquired a new position in shares of Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on PAYX shares. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. TD Cowen increased their target price on Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $132.23.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $146.11 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $114.72 and a 1-year high of $150.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.76, a P/E/G ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 1.00. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $142.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $136.16.

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

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.68%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.53%.

Paychex Company Profile

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.