Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Stock Position Lifted by Forte Capital LLC ADV

Forte Capital LLC ADV grew its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 34,400 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 818 shares during the quarter. Forte Capital LLC ADV’s holdings in Paychex were worth $4,097,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in Paychex in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Carmel Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Paychex during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Paychex by 91.5% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex in the third quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX traded up $1.65 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $120.10. The company had a trading volume of 1,540,545 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,951,709. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $121.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $120.40. The stock has a market cap of $43.23 billion, a PE ratio of 26.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $104.09 and a 1-year high of $129.70.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 2nd. The business services provider reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.46 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 46.14% and a net margin of 31.86%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.29 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.71 earnings per share for the current year.

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 given a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.26%. This is a boost from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. Paychex’s payout ratio is presently 77.56%.

Paychex declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Friday, January 19th that allows the company to buyback $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to purchase up to 0.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

About Paychex

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.