Paychex, Inc. $PAYX is Windsor Advisory Group LLC’s Largest Position

Windsor Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 211,760 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,496 shares during the period. Paychex comprises about 21.2% of Windsor Advisory Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its largest holding. Windsor Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $23,755,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Crawford Investment Counsel Inc. raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Crawford Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 48,124 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,399,000 after purchasing an additional 3,346 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 88.6% during the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 118,802 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $13,327,000 after purchasing an additional 55,817 shares in the last quarter. &PARTNERS raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. &PARTNERS now owns 388,940 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $43,488,000 after purchasing an additional 19,375 shares in the last quarter. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA now owns 2,577 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $289,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cynosure Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter worth about $482,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on PAYX. Argus raised Paychex to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Paychex to $52.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Paychex from $116.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Citigroup raised Paychex from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $99.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Monday. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Paychex from $148.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $109.19.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX opened at $100.28 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market cap of $35.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.09 and a beta of 0.84. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $94.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $99.85. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $85.45 and a 52 week high of $154.29.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.78 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 48.52% and a net margin of 25.84%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.49 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th were issued a $1.19 dividend. This is an increase from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 13th. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.7%. Paychex’s payout ratio is 104.85%.

Paychex Company Profile

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.