2,562 Shares in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Acquired by Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc.

Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 2,562 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $305,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PAYX. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Paychex in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Carmel Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 91.5% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 272 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the period. Fortis Group Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Paychex during the third quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC lifted its stake in Paychex by 39.8% in the 3rd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 351 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX traded up $1.16 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $121.79. The company had a trading volume of 1,070,110 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,786,053. The business has a fifty day moving average of $121.40 and a 200-day moving average of $120.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm has a market cap of $43.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.53, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.93. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $104.09 and a 12 month high of $129.70.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 2nd. The business services provider reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.01. Paychex had a net margin of 31.86% and a return on equity of 46.14%. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.29 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Friday, January 19th that allows the company to repurchase $400.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to reacquire up to 0.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.22%. This is a positive change from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on PAYX shares. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “in-line” rating and issued a $118.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Bank of America upped their target price on Paychex from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. TD Cowen decreased their price target on Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Paychex presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.00.

Paychex Profile

Paychex, Inc provides integrated human capital management solutions for human resources (HR), payroll, benefits, 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.