8,265 Shares in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Purchased by MOKAN Wealth Management Inc.

MOKAN Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 8,265 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,159,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in Paychex by 27.4% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 988,417 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $132,636,000 after acquiring an additional 212,700 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Paychex by 169.9% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,624 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,023,000 after buying an additional 4,799 shares during the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its holdings in Paychex by 2.3% in the third quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 187,663 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,182,000 after buying an additional 4,157 shares during the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Paychex by 91.1% in the fourth quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 10,808 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,515,000 after buying an additional 5,153 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amalgamated Bank raised its holdings in Paychex by 6.2% in the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 70,347 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $9,440,000 after buying an additional 4,082 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Down 0.9 %

PAYX opened at $147.25 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $143.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $138.83. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $53.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.00, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.00. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $114.72 and a twelve month high of $151.72.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 32.02% and a return on equity of 45.28%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.08 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.66%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Paychex 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.