Paychex, Inc. $PAYX is Palmer Knight Co’s 4th Largest Position

Palmer Knight Co grew its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 22.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 74,776 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,950 shares during the quarter. Paychex accounts for 4.4% of Palmer Knight Co’s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Palmer Knight Co’s holdings in Paychex were worth $8,388,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PAYX. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in Paychex by 26.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,710 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $801,000 after acquiring an additional 1,190 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Paychex by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 4,035 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $566,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new position in Paychex in the 1st quarter valued at $3,333,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 41,081 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,976,000 after purchasing an additional 1,290 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 47.1% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 156,680 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $22,790,000 after purchasing an additional 50,169 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on PAYX. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Paychex to $52.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, April 24th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Paychex from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Paychex to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $106.38.

Paychex Price Performance

PAYX opened at $92.85 on Wednesday. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $85.45 and a 52-week high of $161.24. The company has a 50 day moving average of $92.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $104.09. The company has a market cap of $33.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.45 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.04. Paychex had a net margin of 25.84% and a return on equity of 48.52%. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.78 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.49 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 19.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.19 per share. This is a boost from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.1%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 13th. Paychex’s payout ratio is presently 95.15%.

Paychex announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Friday, January 16th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

About Paychex

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.