Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Acquired by Weaver Capital Management LLC

Weaver Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 3.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,121 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $297,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in Paychex in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 42.0% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. MilWealth Group LLC acquired a new position in Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in Paychex in the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Paychex by 805.9% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 308 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on PAYX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Barclays boosted their price target 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $148.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $132.23.

Paychex Stock Up 0.9 %

PAYX opened at $150.87 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $142.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $137.71. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $114.72 and a 52 week high of $151.01. The company has a market cap of $54.32 billion, a PE ratio of 31.76, a P/E/G ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.00.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.08 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.60%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. Paychex’s payout ratio is 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.