Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Position Raised by Alley Investment Management Company LLC

Alley Investment Management Company LLC increased its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 161,359 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,143 shares during the period. Paychex accounts for approximately 2.9% of Alley Investment Management Company LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Alley Investment Management Company LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $22,626,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Avion Wealth increased its stake in Paychex by 469.8% in the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 245 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. MilWealth Group LLC bought a new position in Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in Paychex in the third quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Asset Planning Inc bought a new position in Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Up 1.1 %

NASDAQ PAYX opened at $153.37 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.22 billion, a PE ratio of 32.29, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.00. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $114.72 and a 1 year high of $154.48. The business’s 50-day moving average is $145.51 and its 200 day moving average is $140.91.

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

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.56%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on PAYX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Barclays increased their target price on Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $148.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Two equities research 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, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $132.23.

About Paychex

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.